॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
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श्रीशुक उवाच
अथान्यदपि कृष्णस्य शृणु कर्माद्भुतं नृप । क्रीडानरशरीरस्य यथा सौभपतिर्हत:॥
T:Sage Shuka narrated: Now please hear, King Parikshit, another wondrous deed performed by Sri Krishna, during his earthly Leela. Hear how he killed Shalva, who possessed a great weapon called Saubha.
शिशुपालसख: शाल्वो रुक्मिण्युद्वाह आगत: ।
यदुभिर्निर्जित: सङ्ख्ये जरासन्धादयस्तथा ॥
T: Shalva was a friend of Shishupala’s. When he attended the wedding of Rukmini, the Yadu warriors defeated him in battle, along with Jarasandha and the other kings. Shalva swore in the presence of all the kings: “I will rid the earth of Yadavas. Just see my prowess!”
इति मूढ: प्रतिज्ञाय देवं पशुपतिं प्रभुम् ।
आराधयामास नृप: पांशुमुष्टिं सकृद्ग्रसन् ॥
T: Having thus made his vow, the foolhardy king proceeded to worship Lord Passhupati Shiva (the choice of epithet implies how Shiva is expected even by lowly beings to grace them) as his deity by eating a handful of dust each day, and nothing more. The great Lord Umāpati is known as “he who is quickly pleased,” yet only at the end of a year did he gratify Shalva, who had approached him for shelter, by offering him a choice of boons. Shalva thought that all he needed was a deadly weapon. So he chose a vehicle that could be destroyed by neither gods, demons, humans, Gandharvas, Serpents nor Rakshasas, that could travel anywhere he wished to go, and that would terrify the Vrishnis. This is how nations are induced these days to buy fancy weapons by the USA, Sweden, EU and so on. Lord Shiva said, “So be it.” On his order, Maya Asura, who is famed for his powers to conquer cities, constructed a flying iron city named Saubha and presented it to Shalva.
स लब्ध्वा कामगं यानं तमोधाम दुरासदम् ।
ययौ द्वारवतीं शाल्वो वैरं वृष्णिकृतं स्मरन्॥T: This unassailable vehicle was filled with darkness and could go anywhere. Upon obtaining it, Shalva went to Dwaraka, wanting to avenge the Vrishnis inimical toward him.
Shalva besieged the city with a large army, decimating the outlying parks and gardens, the mansions along with their observatories, towering gateways and surrounding walls, and also the public recreational areas. From his excellent airship, he threw down a torrent of weapons, including stones, tree trunks, thunderbolts, snakes and hailstones. A fierce whirlwind arose and blanketed all directions with dust.
इत्यर्द्यमाना सौभेन कृष्णस्य नगरी भृशम् ।
नाभ्यपद्यत शं राजंस्त्रिपुरेण यथा मही ॥
T: Thus terribly tormented by the airship Saubha, Sri Krishna’s city had no peace, just like the earth when it was attacked by the three aerial cities of the demons ( Tripura episode when Lord Shiva dealt with that attack.). Seeing His subjects so harassed, the glorious and heroic Lord Pradyumna told them, “Do not fear,” and mounted His chariot.
The chief commanders of the chariot warriors — Sātyaki, Chrudeshṇa, Samba, Akrura and others went out of the city with many other eminent archers and well armoured soldiers riding on chariots, elephants and horses. An intense and noisy battle began between Shalva’s forces and the Yadus, harking to the wars fought between gods and demons.
ताश्च सौभपतेर्माया दिव्यास्त्रै रुक्मिणीसुत: ।
क्षणेन नाशयामास नैशं तम इवोष्णगु: ॥
T: With His divine weapons Pradyumna instantly destroyed all of Shalva’s magic illusions, in the same way that the warm rays of the sun dissipate the darkness of night. Lord Pradyumna’s arrows all had gold shafts, iron heads and perfectly smooth joints. With twenty-five of them, He struck down Shalva’s commander-in-chief (Dyuman), and with one hundred, He struck Shalva himself. Then He pierced Shalva’s officers with one arrow each, his chariot drivers with ten arrows each, and his horses and other carriers with three arrows each.
When they saw the glorious Pradyumna perform that amazing and mighty feat, all the soldiers on both sides praised Him.
बहुरूपैकरूपं तद् दृश्यते न च दृश्यते । मायामयं मयकृतं दुर्विभाव्यं परैरभूत् ॥
क्वचिद्भूमौ क्वचिद् व्योम्नि गिरिमूर्ध्नि जले क्वचित् ।
अलातचक्रवद् भ्राम्यत् सौभं तद् दुरवस्थितम् ॥
T: At one moment the magic airship built by Maya Dānava appeared in many identical forms, and the next moment it was again only one. Sometimes it was visible, and sometimes not. Thus Shalva’s opponents could never be sure where it was.
From one moment to the next the Saubha airship appeared on the earth, in the sky, on a mountain peak or in the water. Like a whirling, flaming baton, it never remained in any one place.
Wherever Shalva would appear with his Saubha ship and his army, there the Yadu commanders would shoot their arrows.
Shalva became bewildered upon seeing his army and aerial city thus harassed by his enemy’s arrows, which struck like fire and the sun and were as intolerable as snake venom.
Because the heroes of the Vrishni clan were eager for victory in this world and the next, they did not abandon their assigned posts on the battlefield, even though the downpour of weapons hurled by Shalva’s commanders tormented them.
शाल्वामात्यो द्युमान्नाम प्रद्युम्नं प्राक्प्रपीडित: ।
आसाद्य गदया मौर्व्या व्याहत्य व्यनदद् बली ॥
प्रद्युम्नं गदया शीर्णवक्ष:स्थलमरिंदमम् ।
अपोवाह रणात्सूतो धर्मविद् दारुकात्मज: ॥
T: Shalva’s minister Dyuman, previously wounded by Pradyumna, now ran up to him and, roaring loudly, struck him with his club of black steel.
Pradyumna’s charioteer, the son of Daruka, thought that his valiant master’s chest had been shattered by the club. Knowing well his Dharma as a charioteer, he removed Pradyumna from the battlefield.
लब्धसंज्ञो मुहूर्तेन कार्ष्णि: सारथिमब्रवीत् ।
अहो असाध्विदं सूत यद् रणान्मेऽपसर्पणम् ॥
न यदूनां कुले जात: श्रूयते रणविच्युत: ।
विना मत्क्लीबचित्तेन सूतेन प्राप्तकिल्बिषात् ॥
T: Quickly regaining consciousness, Sri Krishna’s son Pradyumna said to his charioteer, “Oh Charioteer! This is abominable — for me to have been removed from the battlefield!"
“Except for me, no one born in the Yadu dynasty has ever been known to abandon the battlefield. My reputation has now been stained by a charioteer who thinks like a eunuch. What will I say to my fathers, Rama and Keshava, when I return to them after having simply fled the battle? What can I tell Them that will befit ny honour? Certainly, my sisters-in-law will laugh at me and say, ‘Oh hero, tell us how in the world your enemies turned you into such a coward in battle.’ ”
सारथिरुवाच
धर्मं विजानतायुष्मन् कृतमेतन्मया विभो ।
सूत: कृच्छ्रगतं रक्षेद् रथिनं सारथिं रथी ॥
एतद्विदित्वा तु भवान्मयापोवाहितो रणात् ।
उपसृष्ट: परेणेति मूर्च्छितो गदया हत: ॥
T: The charioteer replied: "Oh long-lived one, my Master! I have done this knowing full well my prescribed duty. O my Lord, the charioteer must protect the master of the chariot when he is in danger, and the master must also protect his charioteer. With this rule in mind, I removed you from the battlefield, since you had been struck unconscious by your enemy’s club and I thought you were seriously injured."
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
