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97.YUDHISHTHIRA'S ANGUISH
THE Pandavas performed the til and
water ceremonies for the peace of the
souls of the dead warriors and camped on
the bank of the Ganga for a month.
One day, Narada appeared before
Yudhishthira. "Son, through Krishna's
grace, the valor of Arjuna and the power
of your dharma, you were victorious and
you are the sovereign lord of the land. Are
you happy?" he asked.
Yudhishthira replied: "Bhagavan, it is true
the kingdom has come into my
possession. But my kinsmen are all gone.
We have lost sons that were dear. This
victory appears to me but a great defeat. O
Narada, we took our own brother for an
enemy and killed him, even Karna who
stood rooted like a rock in his honor and
at whose valor the world wondered. This
terrible act of slaying our own brothers
was the result of our sinful attachment to
our possessions. Karna, on the other hand,
kept the promise he gave to our mother
and abstained from killing us. Oh! I am a
sinner, a low fellow who murdered his
own brother. My mind is troubled greatly
at this thought. Karna's feet were so much
like our mother's feet. In the large hall,
when that great outrage was committed
and my anger rose, when I looked at his
feet, which were so much like Kunti's feet,
my wrath subsided. I remember that now
and my grief increases."
So saying, Yudhishthira heaved a deep
sigh. Narada told him all about Karna and
the curses that had been pronounced on
him on various occasions.
Once, when Karna saw that Arjuna was
superior to him in archery, he approached
Drona and entreated him to teach him how
to wield the Brahmastra. Drona declined
saying it was not open to him to instruct
any but a brahmana of faultless conduct or
a kshatriya who had purified himself by
much penance. Thereupon, Karna went to
the Mahendra hills and deceived
Parasurama by saying that he was a
brahmana and became his disciple. From
him he obtained instruction in archery and
the use of many astras.
One day, when Karna was practising with
his bow in the forest near Parasurama's
asrama, a brahmana's cow was
accidentally hit and killed. The brahmana
was angry and uttered a curse on Karna:
"In battle, your chariot wheels will stick in
the mud and you will be done to death,
even like this innocent cow which you
have killed."
Parasurama was exceedingly fond of
Karna and taught him all the archery he
knew and instructed him fully in the use
and the withdrawing of the Brahmastra.
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