Dambhodbhava Upākhyāna

Paraśurāma tells this account in the Kaurava sabhā (assembly hall) in the Udyoga Parva of the Mahābhārata, Chapter 96. It is told during Kṛshṇa’s peace mission to Hastināpura. It is about an old king named Dambhodbhava, who grew proud of his victories and challenged Nara and Nārāyaṇa. Paraśurāma tells it as a warning to Duryodhana.

Paraśurāma in the sabhā

Kṛshṇa has made his great speech to Dhṛtarāshṭra (Chapter 95). Duryodhana gets up, refuses the peace terms, and walks out of the sabhā with his allies. The ṛshis, kings and elders are still there.

At this moment Paraśurāma rises to speak. He is the great warrior-brāhmaṇa who carries the paraśu (axe) and who has come in many forms to restore dharma. He speaks to the whole assembly, and most of all to Duryodhana, and tells the Dambhodbhava Upākhyāna.

Dambhodbhava’s challenge

In an ancient age there lived a king named Dambhodbhava, a warrior of great strength. He took kingdom after kingdom and beat every opponent who stood against him. In time his victories made him unbearably proud. He began to think no one in the three worlds could equal him.

He grew restless in his own invincibility and called out a challenge to the whole world: let anyone who thought himself a warrior come and fight him. Kings, princes and commanders came and were beaten. Deva warriors took up his challenge and were overcome.

In his pride Dambhodbhava at last came to the āśrama (hermitage) of Nara and Nārāyaṇa, the two great ṛshis of Badarikāśrama, and challenged them to fight.

Nara and Nārāyaṇa

Nara and Nārāyaṇa are the eternal divine pair, avatāras of Vishṇu and his constant companion. They received Dambhodbhava’s challenge with perfect calm. They did not mean to fight in the usual way.

Nara picked up a handful of kuśa grass from the ground. By the power of his tapas (austerity) and his mastery of yoga, he turned the blades of kuśa into weapons of great force. They were arrows that pierced so hard that Dambhodbhava’s armour was broken and his pride was destroyed. He lay flat on the ground, overwhelmed, before the two ṛshis.

Dambhodbhava was completely broken and gave himself up at their feet. The ṛshis were kind to him and let him go. But the lesson stayed for good: no weapon made in the ordinary way, and no army raised by ordinary strength, can stand against the eternal Nara and Nārāyaṇa.

Paraśurāma’s warning to Duryodhana

Paraśurāma then states what the account means. In this yuga (age), Kṛshṇa and Arjuna are the forms that Nara and Nārāyaṇa have taken. Kṛshṇa is Nārāyaṇa, and Arjuna is Nara. The cause of the Pāṇḍavas is not only the claim of five men to their family’s kingdom. It stands with the eternal dharma that the divine pair uphold, who have come in this age for this moment.

Duryodhana’s refusal to give way, Paraśurāma says, is the choice of Dambhodbhava: the choice to challenge what cannot be beaten. The end, he warns, will be the same.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapter 96 (Chapter 95 for Kṛshṇa’s speech to Dhṛtarāshṭra)