Mahabharata -Rajagopalachari 329

Mahabharata -Chakravarti Rajagopalachari

100.UTANGA WHEN the battle was over, Krishna bade farewell to the Pandavas and went to Dwaraka. While on his way, he met his old brahmana friend Utanga. Krishna stopped and descending from his chariot saluted the brahmana. Utanga returned the greeting and proceeded to make the usual inquiries about the health and welfare of relatives. "Madhava, do your cousins the Pandavas and the Kauravas love one another as brothers should? Are they well and flourishing?" he asked. The innocent recluse had not heard about the great battle that had been fought. Krishna was astounded at the question of his brahmana friend. For a while, he stood silent not knowing what to say in reply. Then he softly disclosed what had happened. "Sir, a terrible battle had been fought by the Pandavas and the Kauravas, I tried hard and applied every means to prevent the fight and make peace between them. But they would not listen. Almost all of them have perished on the field of battle. Who can stop the hand of fate?" Then he related all that had happened. When Utanga heard the narrative, he was exceedingly wroth. With eyes red with indignation he spoke to Madhava: "Vasudeva, were you there standing by and did you let all this happen? You have indeed failed in your duty. You have surely practised deceit and led them to destruction. Prepare now to receive my curse!" Vasudeva smiled and said: "Peace, peace! Calm yourself. Do not use up the fruit of your great penances in this anger. Listen to what I say and then, if you like, you may pronounce your curse." Krishna pacified the indignant brahmana and appeared to him in his all-embracing form, the Viswarupa. "I am born in various bodies from time to time to save the world and establish the good. In whatever body I am born, I must act in conformity with the nature of that body. When I am born as a Deva, I act as a Deva does. If I appear as a Yaksha or as a Rakshasa, I do everything like a Yaksha or a Rakshasa. If I am born as a human being, or as a beast, I do what is natural to that birth and complete my task. I begged very hard of the ignorant Kauravas. They were arrogant and intoxicated by power and paid no heed to my advice. I tried to intimidate them. Therein also I failed. I was in wrath and showed them even my Viswarupa. Even that failed to have an effect. They persisted in wrongdoing.