(continued from Part 11 posted earlier) ------------------------------------------------------ Dear friends, Like many other lovers of the epic Mahabharatha, I too have sometimes silently wondered how the great "itihAsA" might have panned out -- i.e. how Sage Vyasa might have possibly re-written the script -- if the marriage of Satyavati to King SAntanu had never taken place. It may seem like idle speculation but nonetheless it is quite interesting trying to imagine what might have happened if Bhishma had never committed that grievous folly of bringing home a "maattu-poNN" to keep his old but infatuated father happy but lose, in the bargain, his own rightful claim to a kingdom. In the same vein, I have also often wondered, "If only Bhishma had discreetly conducted for Satyavati the famous pre-wedding "soil-test" -- (readers will recall it from Part-6 of this series posted earlier and which in ancient times the Vedic "gruhya-sUtras" had clearly prescribed for selecting a "maattu-pOnn") -- might not the tale of the Mahabhratha been very different from the saga of bloody fratricide it eventually became?" ************** "Once bitten, twice shy" is an old proverb of which, obviously, the great BhIshmA of the Mahabharatha must have been totally ignorant. Even after having made one disastrous choice of a "maattu-peNN" in Satyavati, it was really surprising the otherwise worldly-wise and venerable "pitAmaha" did not learn sufficiently from the experience. There was a tragic encore of the same folly. The Mahabharatha tells us how Bhisma made yet another noble but monumental blunder in securing a bride, a new "maattu-poNN", this time for his half-brother, the minor Crown-Prince VichitravIrya (the second offspring of Satyavati and deceased King SAntanu). This time around too Bhishma, who was Regent for the adolescent-prince, was guilty of the sin of going about "vivAha-samskArA" in a very cavalier manner, alien to "sAstra" and contrary to accepted customs of those times (which again, readers should recall, the Vedic "gruhya-sUtras" describe at length and a summary of which was essayed in Post-3 through Post-10 of this series). Bhishma paid a heavy and fatal price indeed for this second misadventure. Let us briefly recount the story. ************ When his royal ward, VichitravIrya, came of age, BhIshmA, the venerable guardian-angel of the throne of Hastinapur, set about looking for suitable young brides --- i.e. good "maattu-poNNs" -- for the Prince. The King of Kasi, a neighbouring warlord, had three beautiful and nubile daughters, Amba, Ambika and Ambalika. As was royal custom in those days, their father, the King of Kasi, announced publicly that his daughters would choose their respective grooms from amongst a brood of royal suitors emerging victorious from a ceremonial trial of strength involving martial arts. Many young and brave princes, eager to win brides, began to assemble at Kasi at the appointed hour for the ceremonial "svayamvara". There was pomp, pagaentry and tense expectation all around. BhishmA's un-expected arrival there caused consternation all around. Everyone wondered: What is an avowed "brahmachAri" (celibate) doing at a "svayamvara"? Is the veteran warrior bent upon spoiling the prospects of princes far younger but more eligible than him, but who were mere underlings by comparison as far as martial skill was concerned? Exactly as everyone feared, BhIshmA, entered the fray and routed every other suitor who had the temerity to take on the old warrior. With a dazzling display of archery and other martial skills BhIshmA won the competition comprehensively. Turning then to the King of Kasi, BhIshmA spoke, "Sire, I've won this match, fair and square! Your lovely daughters are therefore mine. But fear not that these fair maidens are betrothed to an old man like me. I have no interest in matrimony as I have sworn myself to lifelong celibacy. Your young daughters have been won by me on behalf of my young half-brother, VichitravIrya of Hastinapur. Amba, Ambika and Ambalika shall be the royal queens of the Crown-Prince. They shall be fitting consorts for the heir to the Hastinapur throne. I will conduct these fair daughters of yours --- or should I say these fair daughters-in-law of mine -- safely and with due honours unto VichitravIrya". The King of Kasi had no qualms about the arrangement and consented joyously to Bhishma's proposal. And so did the three brides -- the 3 "maattu-poNNs" -- Amba, Ambika and Ambalika journey forth with the "pitAmahA" to their new home at the palace of Hastinapur. The "arrangement" was fine and agreeable indeed to all parties concerned but, in truth, it was a rather odd one. It seemed to pervert the customary forms of marriage contained in the "sAstra". The Vedic "dharmA" (viz. the "vivAha gruhya-sUtra-s": pls. refer Post-4 in this series) defined 8 different types of marriages in society: "brAhmO-daivasthathaivAsah: prAjapatyastatha'svrah: gandharvO rAkshaschaiva paisachAstamah smrtAh " (manu-smriti 3.21) None of the above 8 modes of marriage really seemed to fit or comply with the peculiar kind of "arrangement" under which BhIshmA secured the 3 "maattu-poNNs" for the royal palace of Hastinapur. It was what one may, in those ancient times, have called an "a-sAstra" marriage -- a marriage that went againt the canons of Vedic custom and faith. BhIshmA paid a terrible, terrible price for the lapse... ************** With the 3 lovely "mattu-poNNs" in tow, the great BhishmA began the journey back to Hastinapur. Everything that ought to have otherwise ended happily ever after, quite suddenly took an ugly turn on the way. And from there onward, matters rapidly began spiralling away from one tragedy to another. BhIshmA's entourage was suddenly attacked along the way by another warlord, the young Salwa, who was king of a neighbouring country called Saubala. Although surprised by the ambush, the doughty BhIshma easily fought off the attack and brought the young warrior to his knees, had him bound by chains and ordered to be summarily executed on the spot. Just as the death-sentence was about to be carried out, one of the brides, Amba, suddenly stepped forward and fell at BhIshmA's feet, desperately and piteously beseeching him to spare the offender's life. BhishmA relented.... but not before he enquired and discovered the real reason why Amba had intervened. It came to light that Amba, the bride-to-be of Hastinapur, had been secretly in love with Salwa... BhIshma was deeply shocked and saddened by the revelation. For one, it became clear that Amba was a girl of very fickle mind --- and a fickle-minded "maattu-poNN", Bhishma knew, is an unmitigated curse upon the home she enters. If Amba had been firm in her love for Salwa, BhIshma wondered, why did she participate at all in the "svayamvara" announced by her father? Secondly, BhIshma was ill-at-ease being left with no choice but to deliver into the hands of the young VichitryavIrya, a somewhat tainted and unwilling bride -- a "maattu-pOnn" who, from a moral standpoint, was somehow less than virtuous. And lastly, speaking of morals or "dharma", BhIshma knew very well in his heart of hearts that, in fashioning a marriage of rather strange sorts -- a wholly "asAstra-ic" arrangement that he had sought to conclude in marriage -- he had committed a gross breach of the Vedic code. Thus began all of BhIshmA's woes and misery in life.... ************ (to be CONCLUDED) Regards, dAsan, Sudarshan __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. Go to http://yahoo.shaadi.com ------------------------ Yahoo! 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