Ghoshayātrā Parva: Duryodhana Captured

The Ghoshayātrā Parva is the last part of the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata, Chapters 236 to 257. Ghosha means a herd of cattle and yātrā means a journey. Duryodhana set out for Dvaitavana on a journey to inspect his cattle. The gandharva king Citrasena captured him, and the Pāṇḍavas set him free. The parva ends with Karṇa’s conquests, a Vaishṇava yajña performed by Duryodhana, and Karṇa’s vow to kill Arjuna.

Dhṛtarāshṭra’s lament (Chapter 236)

The parva begins with the grief of Dhṛtarāshṭra. A travelling brāhmaṇa brought him news of the Pāṇḍavas in the forest, of their suffering, their dignity and their endurance. Dhṛtarāshṭra was overcome. He spoke aloud and mourned over each of the five brothers in turn, naming their greatness.

Yudhishṭhira was the most patient of kings, and his self-control never broke under provocation.
Bhīma had a fury that, even when fully just, would be terrible when it was at last let loose.
Arjuna had won divine weapons from svarga itself. What army could stand against that?
Nakula and Sahadeva bore their suffering with perfect calm.

Dhṛtarāshṭra spoke plainly. The Pāṇḍavas had done no wrong. The fault was his own and his sons’. He saw the ruin of his own family ahead. Duryodhana, Śakuni and Karṇa were there and heard the lament. They were not moved. They were upset, because Dhṛtarāshṭra’s grief seemed to them a betrayal of their plan.

The plan: a cattle-inspection as the pretext (Chapters 237–239)

Karṇa and Śakuni proposed to Duryodhana that they go to Dvaitavana, the forest where the Pāṇḍavas lived. Their purpose was to gloat over the misery of the exiled brothers. They thought that seeing Draupadī living the life of the forest, and the great heroes in rags, would give Duryodhana the satisfaction he wanted.

Dhṛtarāshṭra would never agree to a visit meant to taunt the Pāṇḍavas. So Karṇa thought of a pretext. Duryodhana had herds of cattle (ghoshas) near Dvaitavana. A royal inspection of the cattle, a ghoshayātrā, was a proper and traditional thing to do. They would go to inspect the herds and, in the course of it, they would happen to be near the Pāṇḍavas’ forest.

Dhṛtarāshṭra at first refused. He warned Duryodhana that the Pāṇḍavas now had divine astras (weapons). Arjuna had spent twelve months in svarga and had learned sixty divine weapons from Indra himself. To go near them with hostile aims was dangerous. He also warned that it was unworthy conduct, because a kshatriya should not rejoice at his enemy’s misfortune. But Śakuni persuaded him, and in the end he gave permission.

Duryodhana set out with a great company: 8,000 chariots, 3,000 elephants, 9,000 horses and 1 lakh (100,000) foot soldiers, together with women, merchants and courtiers (Chapters 238–239).

Citrasena captures Duryodhana (Chapters 240–242)

Duryodhana made his camp near the lake at Dvaitavana, the same lake beside which the Pāṇḍavas were living. But the gandharva king Citrasena had already taken the lake. He had come there on Kubera’s errand to play with the apsarās in the forest. Duryodhana’s soldiers tried to move the gandharvas off the lake to make room for the Kaurava camp. Citrasena’s men refused and threatened to fight.

Duryodhana was angry at this defiance from a people he thought lower than the Kaurava empire. He ordered a full attack. The battle that followed was a disaster for the Kauravas. Karṇa fought well at first, but his chariot was broken up piece by piece, and in the end he was forced to flee on the chariot of his kinsman Vikarṇa. The gandharvas, who had far greater numbers and powers of illusion, overcame the Kaurava forces.

When his army broke, Duryodhana went on fighting alone. But Citrasena took him prisoner. Duḥśāsana, several other Kaurava princes and the women of the Kaurava camp were also taken. The Kauravas who were left fled in panic.

Yudhishṭhira’s order (Chapters 243–245)

The fleeing Kauravas came to the Pāṇḍavas for help. The men who had sent the Pāṇḍavas into exile were now begging the Pāṇḍavas to save them.

Bhīma and the other brothers were inclined to laugh and do nothing. But Yudhishṭhira overruled them with a ruling on kula-dharma (the duty of the family) that is one of the best-known moral statements of the Mahābhārata. He said:

“Even if these men are our enemies, they are our kinsmen. The honour of our family is a shared honour. If Duryodhana is shamed and taken prisoner by an outsider, the dishonour falls on the whole Kuru family, not on Duryodhana alone. We must rescue him, not for his sake but for the dignity of our family. When our kinsmen are taken by outsiders, every family quarrel must be put aside. Rescue them first. Then, if there is a quarrel between us, that is a family matter to be settled within the family.”

He told Bhīma and Arjuna to try sāma (gentle persuasion) first, and if that failed, daṇḍa (force) was allowed (Chapter 243).

The battle with the gandharvas and Duryodhana’s release (Chapters 244–246)

The Pāṇḍavas armed themselves and met Citrasena’s forces. The battle was fierce. The gandharvas tried to overwhelm the Pāṇḍavas by numbers. Arjuna called up the Āgneyāstra, the fire-weapon, and it killed ten lakh (one million) gandharvas. The other Pāṇḍavas each killed hundreds or thousands of gandharvas in ordinary fighting. The gandharvas were driven back and rose into the sky with their prisoners.

Arjuna followed. He made a cage of arrows in the sky, a formation of arrows that closed round the rising gandharvas and stopped them escaping. At this point Citrasena showed himself as Arjuna’s own friend. They had studied together under Indra during Arjuna’s year in svarga. Arjuna drew back his weapons at once.

Citrasena came before Yudhishṭhira and told him what had happened. Duryodhana had come to the forest not to inspect cattle but to gloat over the misery of the Pāṇḍavas. Indra himself had sent Citrasena to teach Duryodhana a lesson.

Yudhishṭhira received this with his usual generosity. He thanked the gandharvas for protecting, without meaning to, the honour of the Kuru family, and he set Duryodhana free without shaming him further. Duryodhana went away with his head bowed in shame, rescued by the very people whose suffering he had come to enjoy.

Duryodhana’s prāyopaveśa (Chapters 247–251)

Duryodhana was in his camp in the forest, full of shame. He told Karṇa what had happened. Karṇa, whose advice had led to the Ghoshayātrā, admitted that he had run from the gandharva battle. Duryodhana told Karṇa the whole of his humiliation and said he could not go back to Hastinā alive.

He decided on prāyopaveśa, a fast unto death, on a seat of darbha grass in the forest. He gave his kingdom to Duḥśāsana and would not move.

Then the Daityas of Pātāla, who were old allies of Duryodhana, learned of his plan and acted. They performed an abhichāra homa (a strong Atharvanic fire ritual of compulsion). By it they called up a Kṛtyā, a supernatural female being of great power. She came down to earth and carried Duryodhana in her arms down to Pātāla.

In Pātāla the Daityas told Duryodhana secrets meant to bring back his confidence and his will to fight.

His body from the waist up was made of vajra (the adamant of thunderbolts), fashioned by Śiva himself, and so he could hardly be harmed.
His lower body was made by Pārvatī and was also protected by the divine.
Several of the great warriors on his side were dānava-avatāras (births of dānavas): Bhagadatta and others.
Karṇa carried the ātmā of the asura Narakāsura, and so he was the fated opponent of Kṛshṇa and Arjuna.
One lakh (100,000) Saṃśaptaka rākshasas would fight Arjuna.
Bhīshma, Droṇa and Kṛpa would for a time be entered (āveśa) by rākshasa forces during the war, and this would multiply their power.

The Kṛtyā took Duryodhana back to earth. He woke in the forest, unsure whether it had been a dream, but firm in his purpose: he would fight and win. He returned to Hastinā with his company.

Karṇa’s digvijaya (Chapters 253–254)

After he came back to Hastinā, Duryodhana was again rebuked, this time by Bhīshma. Bhīshma said that Karṇa had run from the gandharva battle and that the Pāṇḍavas were better in every way. He told Duryodhana plainly to make peace with the Pāṇḍavas before it was too late. Duryodhana laughed and walked out with Śakuni.

Karṇa was stung by Bhīshma’s words and wished to show his strength. He proposed to Duryodhana a digvijaya, a conquest of the whole known earth in all four directions. He wished to show that he alone could win what the four Pāṇḍavas together had once won for the Rājasūya.

Karṇa set out and brought kingdoms under Duryodhana in all four directions.

East. He defeated Drupada and made him a sāmanta (a tributary ruler) of Duryodhana. Then he conquered Aṅga, Vaṅga, Kaliṅga, Śuṇḍika, Mithilā, Magadha and the kingdoms around them.
North. He crossed into the Himālaya regions and defeated Bhagadatta. He brought Nepal and the nearby hill kingdoms under Duryodhana.
South. He fought Rukmi of Vidarbha in a fierce battle. Rukmi said he fought only to honour the kshatriya way, acknowledged Karṇa’s strength, and paid tribute. Karṇa then conquered the Pāṇḍya kingdom, the Kerala region and other southern kingdoms.
West. He won Avantī by sāma (persuasion), joined with the Yādavas, and then conquered the Yavana and Barbara kingdoms and the Śaśaka and other far-western peoples.

Karṇa returned to Hastinā with great wealth. Duryodhana received him with great honour and said, “You have given me a joy that Bhīshma, Droṇa and Bāhlika could not give.” Dhṛtarāshṭra received him with a father’s love. The city held a festival.

The Vaishṇava yajña (Chapters 255–256)

Encouraged by Karṇa’s conquests, Duryodhana spoke of his old wish to perform a Rājasūya yajña, the great imperial yajña that Yudhishṭhira had performed at Indraprastha. But his own purohita refused. To perform the Rājasūya while his father Dhṛtarāshṭra was still alive, and while Yudhishṭhira, who had already performed it, was still living, would be dharma-vidhi-viruddha (against the rules of dharma).

Instead the purohita advised the Vaishṇava yajña, which was declared equal to the Rājasūya in puṇya (merit). The way of doing it was this. The gold that came as tribute from all the subject kings was to be made into a golden plough (suvarṇa nāṅgali). The ground of the yajña was to be ploughed with it, and then the yajña was to be performed with all the proper rites. Viśvakarman was asked to make the golden plough.

The Vaishṇava yajña was performed in great splendour. Kings and brāhmaṇas from all over the empire were invited, and, very boldly, so were the Pāṇḍavas. Duḥśāsana sent a messenger to Dvaitavana. Yudhishṭhira refused with dignity, naming his vow of forest life (vanavāsa). Bhīma sent back a fierce message. After thirteen years Yudhishṭhira would come to Duryodhana’s court, bringing fire-weapons, in a yajña of war. The yajña was completed, and Duryodhana returned to Hastinā amid the cheering of the people.

Yudhishṭhira’s worry and Karṇa’s vow (Chapter 257)

In Hastinā, after the yajña, Karṇa stood up in the assembly and made a solemn public vow. He would not wash his feet, he would not eat flesh or water-born foods, and he would never refuse any request made to him, until the day he killed Arjuna. The Kaurava assembly broke into cheers.

The Pāṇḍavas learned of this vow through their spies in Hastinā. Yudhishṭhira was struck with deep worry. He knew that Karṇa’s natural armour, the sahaja kavaca he was born with, could hardly be pierced. He knew that Karṇa’s skill with the bow was of the highest kind. He had seen Karṇa’s digvijaya, and how much one warrior had done. Now Karṇa had made this vow in full earnest. Yudhishṭhira could find no peace. He decided to leave Dvaitavana, restless and troubled, with his fear for Arjuna’s life lying on his heart like a stone.

At Hastinā, meanwhile, Duryodhana was celebrating in the royal rooms. He looked forward to the war and dreamed of the Rājasūya he would perform after the Pāṇḍavas were destroyed. The Ghoshayātrā Parva, and with it the Āraṇyaka Parva (the Vana Parva), ends here, with the two sides facing each other and the war drawing near.

Sources

Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 236–257 (Ghoshayātrā Parva)
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 236 (Dhṛtarāshṭra’s lament)
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 238–239 (Duryodhana’s departure)
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 240–242 (Citrasena’s capture of Duryodhana)
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 243 (Yudhishṭhira’s ruling on kula-dharma)
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 244–246 (the battle with the gandharvas)
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 247–251 (the prāyopaveśa and Pātāla)
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 253–254 (Karṇa’s digvijaya)
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 255–256 (the Vaishṇava yajña)
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 257 (Karṇa’s vow)