INDIA.

HISTORY OF tháma to go and slay all the Pándavas, and, above PART II. all, to bring him the head of Bhíma, that he might die without sorrow; and Aswattháma was equally prepared on his part to revenge the defeat of his Raja and the death of his father.

Comparison between the massacre by

The subsequent vengeance of Aswattháma forms, perhaps, one of the most barbarous incidents of the war. barbarous inci- One horrible night has indeed been described, during

Aswattháma

and the most

dents in the

war.

Effect of the appearance of

which armies mangled and slaughtered each other beneath the glare of torchlight, and carried about with ghastly exultation the bleeding heads of friends and kinsmen. Again, the scene in which Bhíma drinks the blood of his murdered enemy is revolting to the last degree. But in both cases the passions of the combatants were stirred up to the highest pitch by the fury of the hand-to-hand struggle. The massacre, however, in the camp of the Pándavas was widely different. It was revenge inflicted upon sleeping and unarmed men, and upon sons instead of fathers; and, perchance, a more hateful form of vengeance has scarcely ever been perpetrated.'

At sunset on the evening of the last day of the the owl devour great war, Aswattháma and his two associates were upon the mind sitting beneath a tree. Aswattháma was burning

ing the birds

for wholesale vengeance, whilst smarting under a sense of weakness and helplessness. To a rude warrior, who implicitly believed in omens as lessons or warnings, the incident of an owl pouncing upon the birds, one at a time, as they were sleeping upon a tree, could not fail to produce a marvellous effect. "Thus," he cried, "will I slay the Pandavas!" He accordingly entered the Pándava camp, leaving

1 A scene somewhat similar is to be found in Homer (Iliad, Book x.), where Diomed and Ulysses surprise the Thracian camp.

INDIA. PART II.

his two companions to guard the only means of HISTORY OF entrance or exit. Then followed the attack upon the sleeping Dhrishta-dyumna, the slaughter of the naked man, the midnight panic, the horrible confusion of friends and foes, the escape of the murderer with the five heads of the sons of the Pándavas, and the dreary walk over the plain at early morning, when the first light of dawn just disclosed the wolves and jackals who were still feasting upon the bodies of the slain.

Pleasure of gra

tified revenge as displayed in

dying hour

of Duryodhana.

But another scene was yet to follow, which no one could have portrayed or imagined saving an the Oriental bard who could fully sympathize in the joy of gratified revenge. In the dim light of early morning the three warriors once more stood by the side of the dying Raja. For a brief interval Duryodhana was deceived. For a brief interval he was led to believe that the heads of his hated kinsmen were before him; and forgetting his wounds and losses, he rejoiced in the completeness of his revenge. He took the supposed skull of his murderer, and crushed it between his hands; and then the truth suddenly flashed upon him. The light of the rising sun fell upon the countenances of the dead, and he saw that the heads were those of the sons and not of the fathers. Thus his joy was turned to the deepest grief, and he leaned upon the knees of Kritavarman, and expired in an agony of

sorrow.

acter of the fable

amulet.

The concluding portion of the narrative of As- Mythical char wattháma's revenge has been so hopelessly falsified of Aswathama's by the Brahmanical compilers that it is wanting not only in poetical justice but in human interest. The story of Aswattháma's jewel or amulet appears

HISTORY OF to be a myth.

INDIA. PART II.

Probably in the original tradition Bhíma pursued Aswattháma to the death, and brought his head to Draupadí. As, however, Aswattháma is said to have been a Bráhman, the fable of the jewel has apparently taken the place of the story of the murder; as the slaughter of a Brahman would be especially offensive to the Brahmanical compilers.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE RECONCILIATION OF THE LIVING AND BURIAL

OF THE DEAD.

his sons.

INDIA. PART II.

Attempts to reconcile the

the Pandavas.

of Krishna and

A NEW Scene now opens in the story of the HISTORY OF Mahá Bhárata, namely, the reconciliation between the blind Maharaja and the men who had murdered This reconciliation is said to have been Maharaja with previously effected by Krishna during his night visit Mythical efforts to Hastinapur; but, as already indicated, this portion Vyása. of the narrative appears to be an interpolation of modern date. Like most of the mythical accounts of Krishna it contains some beautiful expressions of sympathy; but at the same time it is evident that such a mission would be ill-timed and useless. It is also worthy of remark that a similar visit is ascribed to the officious Vyása, and is of course equally mythical in its origin and character. Indeed, the language of both Krishna and Vyása is strained and artificial. It is impossible to conceive that parents, Impossibility of whose sons were still lying dead upon the field of parents and the battle, could be consoled by the assurance that those their sons. sons had perished in consequence of their injustice; or by the still more extravagant assurance that the murderers would take the places of those sons, and would prove themselves to be even more loyal and

a real reconciliation between

murderers of

INDIA.

sympathy on the

part of the Brahmanical compilers.

Interview be

tween the Pán

Maharaja on the

day after the

war.

feigned recon

ciliation.

HISTORY OF Obedient. Such an idea may be justly regarded as PART II. the ignorant conception of some Brahmanical comWant of family piler, who had led a life of celibacy, and who was utterly unable to realize that enduring affection and unreasoning devotion which the true mother feels for the worst of her sons. But the story of the indavas and the terview between the Maháraja and the Pandavas on the day after the battle seems to fall under a different Necessity for a category. The Pándavas were victors who had established their claim to the Raj against the sons of the Maharaja by force of arms, but who were yet desirous of appearing to be on good terms with the Maharaja whose sovereignty they would be expected to acknowledge. The Maháraja, on the other hand, although nominally the Sovereign, was virtually the representative of the defeated party, and his very life was at the mercy of the conquerors. Thus whilst a real reconciliation was perhaps impossible, a feigned reconciliation was absolutely indispensable to both parties. Accordingly, it will be seen that the Pándavas prostrated themselves in turns at the feet of the Maharaja and the Rání, and that some sort of explanation or apology was offered and accepted; Real feelings of but the real feelings of the bereaved parents will be readily perceived from an attempt of the Maháraja to crush Bhíma in his embrace, and from the sudden shriek of the Rání that the smell of her son was upon them.

the Maharaja

and Rání.

Narrative of the reconciliation.

The Pandavas,

accompanied by

and meet the

The narrative of this reconciliation, real or feigned, is as follows:

Meantime Yudhishthira had heard that Maháraja DhriKrishna, go out tarashtra had left the city of Hastinápur for the field of battle; and he went forward to meet him, accompanied by his brethren and by Krishna, and by Draupadí, and by all the

Maharaja.