Kṛshṇa’s Embassy to Hastināpura

Kṛshṇa’s embassy is the peace mission that Bhagavān Kṛshṇa makes to Hastināpura on behalf of the Pāṇḍavas. It is told in the Bhagavad-yāna Parva of the Udyoga Parva of the Mahābhārata, in Chapters 72 to 100. A dūta (ambassador) goes to speak for others and to bring back the answer, and Kṛshṇa goes in this way.

He is asked to win at least five villages for the Pāṇḍavas and so avoid war. At Hastināpura he refuses Duryodhana’s banquet, visits Kuntī and Vidura, hears of a plot to seize him, enters the sabhā (royal court) with Nārada Maharshi, speaks to Dhṛtarāshṭra, and hears Duryodhana refuse. Because the embassy fails, the war at Kurukshetra cannot be stopped. Two long accounts are told inside the court: the Dambhodbhava Upākhyāna by Paraśurāma, and the start of the Mātali Upākhyāna by Kaṇva Ṛshi.

The mandate and the terms

Yudhishṭhira lowers the Pāṇḍava demand to the least it can be. He asks for five villages: Avishṭhala, Vṛkasthala, Mākandī, Vārāṇāvata, and one more of their choosing. Kṛshṇa may bargain within this range. The Pāṇḍavas also hold an understanding that is never spoken aloud. If even five villages are refused, the dūta-dharma (the duty of an ambassador) requires Kṛshṇa to return and report the failure. After that the Pāṇḍavas will prepare for war.

Draupadī gives Kṛshṇa her own message in Chapter 82. It is harder and cannot be bargained over: peace cannot be bought at the price of her honor. She reminds Kṛshṇa of every humiliation she has suffered. She makes clear that she will accept no agreement that leaves her suffering unanswered.

The journey

Kṛshṇa leaves Upaplavya in his divine chariot. Four horses draw it: Śaibya, Sugrīva, Meghapushpa and Valāhaka. His charioteer Dāruka drives, and Satyabhāmā goes with him. The journey is a holy one, and the ṛshis he meets along the road give their blessings. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa travels to prevent the destruction of the world.

Two welcomes at Hastināpura

Two welcomes are prepared for Kṛshṇa at Hastināpura. Dhṛtarāshṭra plans a grand one: sixteen chariots, eight elephants, a hundred dāsīs (female attendants) and heaps of treasure. Vidura warns him that such a show is out of place. Kṛshṇa cannot be won with gifts, and these preparations miss the true purpose of the visit.

Vidura’s own welcome is plainer and warmer, and it means more. Kṛshṇa eats at Vidura’s house, not at Duryodhana’s table.

The refusal to dine

Duryodhana invites Kṛshṇa to eat with him before the formal session of the sabhā. Kṛshṇa declines. His reason is clear and sharp. He does not eat the food of an enemy with whom the matter in hand is not settled. A shared meal would suggest a friendship or a neutrality that does not exist.

He will eat at Vidura’s house, with a man he can honor, and come to the sabhā on those terms. The refusal is not rude, but everyone present understands what it means.

The visit to Kuntī

Before the formal session, Kṛshṇa visits Kuntī alone. She speaks of her sons’ sufferings, of the wrong done to them in the years of exile, and of a mother’s helplessness. She speaks, with care and in few words, of Karṇa. He is her first son, left behind at his birth. He now stands on the enemy side, and he cannot be named openly as her son.

She does not ask Kṛshṇa to do the impossible. She asks him to remember that she is a mother with sons on both sides of this war. She trusts Kṛshṇa with her message for Yudhishṭhira and his brothers: endure, fight with righteousness, and win back what is yours.

Vidura’s night warning and Duryodhana’s plot

Vidura meets Kṛshṇa alone at night, in Chapter 92, and warns him plainly. Duryodhana has planned to seize him when he appears in the sabhā. Kṛshṇa is the Pāṇḍavas’ ambassador and also the king of Dvārakā. Taking him prisoner would be a public insult, and it would also end the embassy.

Earlier, in Chapter 88, Bhīshma heard of this plan and walked out of the assembly in anger. This made his position clear. He would have no part in such adharma (wrong), though he is bound to Duryodhana by his place at the Kaurava court.

In Chapter 93, Kṛshṇa hears Vidura’s warning and is not troubled. He says he knows of the plan. He says that if the attempt is made, it will fail. It will fail not because of anything he has arranged, but because of who he is. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa cannot be seized.

Entering the sabhā with Nārada

In Chapter 94, Kṛshṇa performs his morning rituals. The great chariot is described in all its splendour, and he enters the Kaurava sabhā. Nārada Maharshi goes in with him. Nārada is the ṛshi who moves between the worlds, and he comes with Bhagavān Kṛshṇa into the court of those who defy dharma.

The court is full. Bhīshma, Droṇa, Kṛpa and all the might of the Kauravas are present.

The great speech

In Chapter 95, Kṛshṇa speaks to Dhṛtarāshṭra. This is the high point of the embassy. He speaks knowing what he is doing and what will follow if he fails. He sets out:

• The Pāṇḍavas’ full and clear claim to their kingdom under dharma.
• The wrongs done to them: the rigged dice game, the exile, and the vastra-haraṇa (the disrobing) of Draupadī.
• The Pāṇḍava forces and allies. Kṛshṇa names the great warriors who will stand against the Kauravas, and makes plain that the outcome of the war is not in doubt.
• The offer: five villages, or even only the return of their honor, and peace can be had.
• The warning: if this is refused, the Kuru line will end at Kurukshetra.

He speaks to Dhṛtarāshṭra as a father who still has power over his son, and he urges him to use it. Dhṛtarāshṭra is deeply moved but cannot act. Duryodhana stands up, rejects the terms, and leaves the sabhā.

The Dambhodbhava Upākhyāna and the Mātali Upākhyāna

After Duryodhana’s refusal, two great ṛshis in the sabhā rise to speak.

Paraśurāma tells the Dambhodbhava Upākhyāna in Chapter 96. It is the account of a proud king who challenged Nara and Nārāyaṇa and was destroyed by kuśa grass. Nara and Nārāyaṇa are eternal, and Kṛshṇa and Arjuna are those two.

Kaṇva Maharshi then begins the Mātali Upākhyāna, in Chapters 97 to 100. Mātali is the charioteer of Indra. He looks for a husband for his daughter Guṇakeśī in the realms below. The account includes a description of Varuṇaloka, the origin of the Gāṇḍīva bow, and the city of Hiraṇyapura.

What the embassy shows

The failure of the embassy shows that the Pāṇḍavas had tried every peaceful way. It shows that Duryodhana would not bend even when Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself came as ambassador. The war that follows is the only answer left to a refusal of dharma.

The episode also shows the nature of the Kaurava court. Bhīshma protests in anguish and on principle. Dhṛtarāshṭra grieves and cannot act. Vidura sees clearly and does not waver. Duryodhana’s pride brings him down.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Bhagavad-yāna Parva, Chapters 72–100
• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapter 82 (Draupadī’s message to Kṛshṇa)
• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapter 88 (Bhīshma leaves the assembly)
• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapters 92–93 (Vidura’s warning and Kṛshṇa’s answer)
• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapter 94 (entry into the sabhā with Nārada)
• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapter 95 (Kṛshṇa’s speech to Dhṛtarāshṭra)
• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapter 96 (Dambhodbhava Upākhyāna, told by Paraśurāma)
• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapters 97–100 (Mātali Upākhyāna, told by Kaṇva)