incident. Now a very particular feature of the Indian science of departure follows: Kṛṣṇa leaves at a moment which is auspicious from the astrological point of view. This is to indicate that the individual properly relates himself to the Cosmos and its functioning.
A departure signifies a new turn in the life of an individual, and the new undertaking is supposed to be fruitful if the respective person harmonizes himself with the cosmic forces with which he is in constant interaction. A spiritual genius like Kṛṣṇa does not need to consult the horoscopes but through his inner attunement he automatically chooses the right moment.
anvāruroha cāpyenaṁ premṇā rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ /
apāsya cāsya yantāraṁ dārukaṁ yantṛsattamam /
abhīṣūnsamprajagrāha svayaṁ kurupatistadā // 14
upāruhyārjunaścāpi cāmaravyajanam sitam /
rukmadaṇḍaṁ bṛhanmūrdhni dudhāvābhipradakṣiṇam // 15
tathaiva bhīmaseno’pi yamābhyāṁ sahito vaśī /
pṛṣṭato’nuyayau kṛṣṇamṛtvikpaurajanairvṛtaḥ // 16
From affection, King Yudhiṣṭhira ascended the chariot after him, and, moving aside Dāruka, best of charioteers, he took the reins himself. Arjuna too ascended the chariot, waving a large white cāmara with a golden handle sunwise around Kṛṣṇa’s head. The mighty Bhīmasena, with the twin brothers also followed Kṛṣṇa from behind, surrounded by the priests and citizens.
We may have expected Kṛṣṇa now to slowly gallop away waving his hand in a gesture of blessing to the crowds looking on, but there is a delay: moved by his great love for Kṛṣṇa, Yudhiṣṭhira mounts on the chariot, followed by Arjuna who waves a yak-tail fan from left to right, which is another indication of the individual’s attunement to the cosmic workings.
sa tathā bhrātṛbhiḥ sardhaṁ keśavaḥ paravīrahā /
anugamyamānaḥ śuśubhe śiṣyairiva guruḥ priyaiḥ // 17
Keśava, slayer of the enemy heroes, followed by the brothers, shone like a guru among his beloved disciples.
Another climax is reached here in the poet’s account of Kṛṣṇa’s departure: if in verse 9 he was likened to Indra surrounded by the immortals, he is now said to be like a guru amidst his beloved disciples. We have here a first anticipation of his later role in relation to the Pāṇḍavas, and particularly to Arjuna in the Gītā.
So this verse marks a real turning point and is of great importance. So far we had seen Kṛṣṇa treated as a highly respected relative by the Pāṇḍavas. When he met them at Drupada’s palace after Draupadī’s svayamvara, he touched Yudhiṣṭhira’s feet.32 This is hardly what we would expect a guru to do. We may also remember that when Kṛṣṇa had advised Arjuna to abduct Subhadrā, Yudhiṣṭhira was consulted first. But now he is gradually assuming the role of a divine guide of the Pāṇḍavas. A first turn in the new direction was taken when Arjuna asked Maya to do something for Kṛṣṇa rather than for himself, because as a quasi-disciple he could not accept any gift in the presence of Kṛṣṇa.
pārthamāmantṛya govindaḥ pariṣvajya ca pīḍitam /
yudhiṣṭhiraṁ pūjayitvā bhīmasenaṁ yamau tathā // 18
pariṣvakto bhṛśaṁ tābhyāṁ yamābhyāmabhivāḍitaḥ /
tatastaiḥ saṁvidaṁ kṛtvā yathāvanmadhusūdanaḥ // 19
nivartayitvā ca tadā pāṇḍavānsapadānugān /
svāṁ purīṁ prayayau kṛṣṇaḥ puraṁdara ivāparaḥ // 20
Govinda bade Pārtha farewell, embracing him firmly. Then he saluted Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīmasena and the twins, and the latter embraced him strongly in farewell. Then Madhusūdana made an agreement with them, and turning them and their followers back, Kṛṣṇa proceeded towards his own city like another Puraṁdara.
The departure scene is nearing its end now. There are various loving gestures until Kṛṣṇa finally disengages himself from the Pāṇḍavas and speeds home, after having made an agreement with them on a new meeting. He is compared now to Indra on the way towards Amarāvatī.
locanairanujagmuste tamā dṛṣṭipathāttadā /
manobhiranujagmuste kṛṣṇaṁ prītisamanvayāt // 21
atṛptamanasāmeva teṣāṁ keśavadarśane /
kṣipramantardadhe śauriścakṣuṣām priyadarśanaḥ // 22
They followed Kṛṣṇa with their eyes as long as he was within sight, and then followed him in their minds with love. Even while they were still unsated of the sight of Keśava, the gracious Śauri soon disappeared from their sight.
These are masterful verses. The eyes of the Pāṇḍavas refuse as it were to lose Kṛṣṇa out of sight and in any case their loving thoughts will follow him even beyond the horizon. Somewhat listlessly the brothers return home:
akāmā iva pārthāste govindagatamānasaḥ /
nivṛtyopayayuḥ sarve svapuraṁ puruṣarṣabhāḥ /
syandanenātha kṛṣṇo’pi samaye dvārakāmagāt. / 23
Unwilling as it were the Pārthas, with their minds fixed on Govinda, turned back and those bull-like men returned to their city. Kṛṣṇa in his chariot reached Dvārakā in time.
Alf Hiltebeitel, Kṛṣṇa and the Mahābhārata (A Bibliographical Essay), Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. LX (1979), 91
Published in: Aṛtadhārā, Prof. R.N. Dandekar Felicitation Volume, pp. 187-194.
On the Meaning of the Mahābhārata, 63.
3.
