Udyoga Parva Part 3
The Udyoga Parva is the fifth book of the Mahābhārata. This is its third and last part, Chapters 101 to 196. It is made of four smaller parvas.
In this part both armies gather at Kurukshetra. Duryodhana sends Ulūka with insults to the Pāṇḍava camp. Bhīshma rates the warriors on both sides. Then Bhīshma tells the long account of Ambā and Śikhaṇḍī, which explains why he will not fight Śikhaṇḍī, the warrior who is to be his slayer.
The four sub-parvas
| Sub-parva | Chapters | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Sāinyanirjāṇa Parva | 101–159 | Army mobilization, commander appointments, Balarāma’s departure, Rukmī’s bow episode |
| Ulūka-Dūtāgamana Parva | 160–163 | Ulūka’s embassy of insults to the Pāṇḍava camp |
| Rathātiratha-Saṃkhyāna Parva | 165–172 | Bhīshma’s classification of warriors |
| Ambopākhyāna Parva | 173–196 | Ambā’s account, the battle of Paraśurāma and Bhīshma, Śikhaṇḍī’s birth; the armies march |
Sāinyanirjāṇa Parva (Chapters 101–159)
The Pāṇḍava army at Kurukshetra (Chapters 151–152)
Talks for peace have failed and war cannot be stopped. The Pāṇḍava forces march to Kurukshetra. Kṛshṇa formally names Dhṛshṭadyumna as supreme commander of the Pāṇḍava host. The camp is set up along the river Hiraṇvatī.
Duryodhana’s eleven commanders (Chapters 155–156)
Duryodhana arranges his eleven akshauhiṇīs (large armies) under eleven commanders. They are Kṛpa, Droṇa, Śalya, Jayadratha, Sudakshiṇa of Kāmboja, Kṛtavarman, Aśvatthāman, Karṇa, Bhūriśravas, Śakuni and Bāhlīka.
In Chapter 156 Bhīshma is made supreme commander (mahāsenāpati) of the whole Kaurava force. At this appointment Karṇa declares that he will not fight as long as Bhīshma is commander. The vow holds until Bhīshma falls on the tenth day.
Yudhishṭhira names seven commanders (Chapter 157)
Yudhishṭhira names seven commanders for the Pāṇḍava side: Drupada, Virāṭa, Sātyaki, Dhṛshṭadyumna (as supreme commander), Dhṛshṭaketu, Śikhaṇḍī, and Sahadeva of Magadha. This Sahadeva is Jayatsena, a son of Jarāsandha, and is a different person from the Pāṇḍava Sahadeva.
In the same chapter Balarāma arrives with the gathered Vṛshṇi heroes. They include Akrūra, Gada, Sāmba, Uddhava, Pradyumna, Cārudeshṇa and others. Balarāma cannot choose between his brother Kṛshṇa and his student Duryodhana, and he will not fight in a war between kin. He announces that he is leaving on a tīrtha-yātrā (journey to holy places). He goes without taking either side.
Rukmī’s bow (Chapter 158)
Rukmī was king of Bhojakuṭa and the elder brother of Rukmiṇī. He travels to the war front and offers his help, together with the Vijaya bow, to whichever side will accept him. The Vijaya is the divine bow of Mahendra and is one of the three supreme bows of the world.
He goes first to the Pāṇḍava camp. Arjuna refuses him, because Rukmī has failed others in battle before. Rukmī then goes to Duryodhana, who also refuses. Rukmī leaves, turned away by both sides.
The chapter also teaches about the three divine bows. They are the Gāṇḍīva, given by Varuṇa; the Vijaya, given by Mahendra; and the Śārṅga, carried by Vishṇu-Kṛshṇa.
Dhṛtarāshṭra’s lament (Chapter 159)
The armies take their last positions. Dhṛtarāshṭra laments to Sañjaya, with all the grief of a father who sees the ruin he helped to bring. Sañjaya answers with a teaching on karma (action and its fruit) and fate. He tells Dhṛtarāshṭra that his own favour toward Duryodhana has brought the world to this disaster.
Ulūka-Dūtāgamana Parva (Chapters 160–163)
On the eve of war Duryodhana sends Ulūka, the son of Śakuni, to the Pāṇḍava camp. Ulūka brings insulting messages for each Pāṇḍava leader: Yudhishṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, Kṛshṇa, Virāṭa, Drupada, Dhṛshṭadyumna and Śikhaṇḍī. Each hero answers with a declaration of his own duty and strength.
The episode also holds the Baiḍāla-vrata parable, about a cat that pretends to be good so that it can prey on fish. It is offered as a picture of Duryodhana’s false dharma. After Ulūka returns, the Pāṇḍava army marches to Kurukshetra.
Rathātiratha-Saṃkhyāna Parva (Chapters 165–172)
Before the war begins, Bhīshma gives Duryodhana a full account of every notable warrior on both sides. He grades them by the Rathātiratha system, which uses the classes ratha, atiratha, ardharatha and mahāratha. The list covers the Kaurava and Pāṇḍava warriors in detail. It includes the argument between Bhīshma and Karṇa over how Karṇa is rated.
The parva ends with Bhīshma’s formal declaration that he will never fight Śikhaṇḍī. This leads into the Ambopākhyāna.
Ambopākhyāna Parva (Chapters 173–196)
This is the longest account in the third part of the Udyoga Parva. Bhīshma tells Duryodhana the whole account of Ambā, the eldest princess of Kāśī. Bhīshma carried her away at her svayaṃvara (the ceremony where a princess chooses her husband), and her life was broken. For the rest of her life she sought the death of Bhīshma by every means: by asking for help, by tapas (austerity), and at last through the grace of Mahādeva.
The account runs through these events:
- Bhīshma’s abduction of Ambā.
- Ambā’s meeting with Paraśurāma.
- The battle between Paraśurāma and Bhīshma, which lasted 23 days.
- Ambā’s twelve years of tapas.
- Her self-burning.
- Her rebirth as Śikhaṇḍī in Drupada’s house.
- The episode of the yaksha Sthūṇakarṇa, which changed her into a man.
The last chapters, 193 to 196, return to the present. Both armies make their last declarations and march into position for the first day of the war at Kurukshetra.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapters 101–196