|
Mahābhārata The History of the Great India
<< 140 Sisupala's Rage >>
 |  | The King of Cedi interrupts the Rajasuya sacrifice to blaspheme Lord Krsna. The sage Vaisampayana is telling the history of the Pandavas to their great-grandson, King Janamejaya. As the narration continues, Vaisampayana describes how Sisupala objected when Lord Krsna was chosen the first to be worshiped at the great Rajasuya sacrifice of King Yudhisthira, now emperor of the world.
| | | Sisupala could not tolerate the worship offered to Lord Krsna. The mighty Sisupala, King of Cedi, rejected and insulted Krsna, in the process publicly reviling Bhisma and Yudhisthira.
| | | Sisupala said, "When all these exalted lords of the earth are standing here, Yudhisthira, this Vrsni man Krsna does not deserve the honor of a ruler, as if He were a king. O Pandava, this is improper behavior for the exalted Pandavas. Out of selfishness you have worshiped lotus-eyed Krsna. You Pandavas are all childish! You can't understand, for the principles of religion are quite subtle. And this Bhisma, son of Ganga, has transgressed the law, for he has little vision. Like you, Bhisma is certainly bound to justice. So, because he is acting whimsically to please his favorite, he deserves even more disdain among the societies of decent people.
| | | "How in the midst of all the kings of the earth can this Krsna of the Dasarhas, who is not even a king, deserve such honors, the way you have all worshiped Him? Or do you actually think Krsna to be senior? When His elderly father Vasudeva is present, how can his son deserve these honors? Or even if Krsna wishes you well and has rendered you service, how can He deserve such worship when Drupada is present? O Kuru chief, if perhaps you consider Krsna to be your teacher, how could you worship Him when [your real teacher] Drona is standing here? Or if you think Krsna to be a priest, O Kuru son, why should you worship Krsna when the learned sage Dvaipayana [the greatest of priests] is present? Krsna is not a priest, a teacher, or a king, and yet He is being worshiped. Why else but out of your capricious desire to please Him?
| | | "Then again, if you are indeed to worship Krsna, then why bring all these kings here? To insult them? We offer tribute to Yudhisthira not out of fear or greed or diplomacy but because he is a man dedicated to virtue who aspired to be the lord of the earth. We offer tribute to him, but he does not consider us. What else could this be but disrespect, that in a council of kings you have, with arghya,* worshiped Krsna, who has not even achieved a clear status in society.
| | | "For no reason, fame has gone to this son of Dharma, Yudhisthira, and people call him dharmatma, 'a virtuous soul.' In fact, what man would offer such elaborate worship to Krsna, who has fallen from virtue and, though born in the Vrsni dynasty, once killed a king? Today the status of being "a virtuous soul" has been dragged away from Yudhisthira, for by delivering the honor of arghya to Krsna he has become a weak, miserly man.
| | | "If the sons of Kunti are frightened or wretched men, or if they are ascetics who don't care about the world and its customs, in any case you should know what honor Krsna actually deserves.
| | | "And You, Krsna, when You are unworthy of this worship offered by wretched men, why have You approved it? You so highly esteem an honor that does not befit You, like a dog who lays hold of a stream of sacrificial butter and is eager to devour it in seclusion. But this sort of insult does not work among earthly kings. Clearly it is You alone whom the Kurus deceive. Indeed, they have made a fool of You. As the gift of a wife is to a eunuch, as the display of a lovely form is to a blind man, so is the offering of kingly honor to You, Krsna, who are not even a king.
| | | "Now King Yudhisthira is revealed for what he is, and Bhisma too is seen as he really is. Even this Krsna is now actually seen. All this can now be understood as it really is."
| | | Thus having spoken to the assembly, Sisupala at once rose up from his exalted seat and left that meeting, together with some other kings.
| | | * A beverage made of auspicious ingredients that is offered to highly respected persons.
|
|
| |
|---|
English
Español
Pусский
Português