Vana Parva - 10: Arjun at Indralok
After the Lokpals and the other Gods left, very
soon, Indra's majestic chariot, drawn by eight
white steeds with Matali as the charioteer came
down illuminating the clouds. Arjun was looking
wonderstruck at the vehicle, when Matali got
down and said, "O destroyer of foes, son of my
Lord Indra himself, I have been instructed to
take you swargalok as desired by your father
Indra. Shiva has also instructed me the same.
So please ascend to this chariot so that I can
complete my duty."
Arjun replied, "O Matali, he who has not
achieved ascetic merit does not deserve to ride
this vehicle. So you please ascend first. I shall
first take a bath, offer prayers, cleanse myself
and then come aboard." Saying so, Arjun
entered the waters of the river nearby and had
a bath. He said his usual daily prayers and then
gratified the pitras (souls of the forefathers)
with oblations of water. The he prayed to
Mandar, the king of mountains, "O mountain,
you are refuge to the holy sages. It is by thy
grace that the brahmins, the kshatriyas and the
vaishyas attain heaven. I have happily dwelt in
your realms and achieved my task. I now seek
to bid you farewell." Then Arjun ascended the
chariot of Indra.
As the chariot started ascending to the heavens,
Arjun saw many wondrous sights. He beheld
many extraordinarily shining and beautiful
chariots placed in the great skies far above the
earth. There was no sun or moon nearby yet
the chariots emitted light by virtue of the
ascetic merits of the rider inside. He saw royal
sages, gandharvas, guhyakas, rishis and apsaras,
all blazing in splendour. Arjun was amazed at
the sight and asked Matali about them. Matali
replied, "These, O son of Kunti, are virtuous
persons. They have been sanctioned a place in
the heavens due to their moral deeds. You see
them from the earth as stars."
Finally, the vehicle arrived at Amaravati, the
capital of Indralok or swarga. It was the region
of virtuous alone. Arjun gazed with wide open
eyes at the astonishing city. Flowers from all
the seasons bloomed simultaneously, and there
were groves of sacred trees. Fragrant breezes
moved among their golden leaves, creating
cascades of brilliant light. Countless mansions
and palaces stretched into the distance. Arjun
saw the famous Nandana gardens, in which the
gods sported with Apsaras.
"Those who turn their backs in battle can never
see this place," Matali said, seeing Arjun's
amazement. "Neither can those who are
wicked-minded, who have not performed
sacrifice, who have not abstained from liquor
and meat, who have not bathed in holy rivers
nor given charity to Brahmins ever reach this
abode."
Arjun was greeted all along the path by
Amaravati's celestial citizens. The chariot finally
stopped at the gates of Indra's palace. He
heard the sound of celestial music and of
thousands of conch shells and drums. Arjun
entered Indra's magnificent assembly hall and
met with the Sadhyas, Maruts, Visvadevas, and
twin Ashvini Kumar's. He saw the Adityas,
Vasus, Rudras, and the many royal saints
headed by King Dilip. Narad rishi was also
present along with the Gandharva leader,
Tumbaru. Arjun lay prostrate in front of Indra
who received him lovingly by embracing him.
Indra then had his son sit next to him on the
throne, where he shone like a second Indra.
With his perfumed hand, Indra affectionately
stroked Arjun's head. Out of love, Indra gently
patted and rubbed his arms, which were like
gold columns. The deity gazed without satiation
at his son's face. Seated together on the
throne, Arjun and Indra appeared like the sun
and the moon together in a clear sky.
At the behest of Indra, Arjun then occupied the
a place at Indra's palace. Arjun took up
residence there and Indra instructed him in
how to use the celestial weapons, and
especially the irresistible thunderbolt weapon,
Vajra, and Indra's powerful lightning flashes.
Although living amid splendour and opulence,
Arjun could not forget his brothers in the
forest, and he longed to return to them.
Whenever he thought of his brothers, he also
remembered the circumstances that had
brought them to the forest, and he
remembered Shakuni, Duhshasan, Duryodhan
and Karna. Arjun had no peace. As he was
equipped with one powerful weapon after
another, he thought only of the inevitable
battle that would take place in the future. No
one would be able to stand against him now.
Those wicked-minded men would be punished.
Draupadi would be avenged and Yudhishthir's
kingdom would be recovered.
When Arjun had become adept at using all the
weapons, Indra told him, "You should go to
Gandharva Chitrasen and learn singing and
dancing from him. He can teach you such
music that does not exist in the world of men
and is known only to the celestials. This
knowledge will prove useful to you in the
future." Arjun thus learned the Gandharva
skills. The Pandava did not know why Indra had
requested him to study such subjects, but he
was sure the God could see by divine
intelligence that such knowledge would surely
be helpful in the future.
-----
Arjun and Urvashi
Arjun stayed at Indra's abode for five years.
One day, Indra arranged to hold a grand
reception and dance in honour of Arjun. Arjun
had just completed a huge task for Lord Indra
for which Indra was extremely happy (but that
story shall come later). All the celestials
gathered and occupied Indra's hall. There were
Gods, Yakshas, Adityas, Rudras, the sages, great
Nagas, etc., in the company. As they all were
seated, Urvashi, the apsara entered with her
group of dancers and started dancing. Arjun
looked at Urvashi - she was extremely beautiful
- and Arjun could not but help admire her
beauty. Indra observed Arjun's glances at
Urvashi.
When the dance recital was over and the sabha
dismissed, Indra called Chitrasen aside and
said, "O King of Gandharvas, please go to the
foremost amongst the apsaras, Urvashi, and
request her to wait upon Arjun. Arjun has
learnt the art of celestial weapons through my
grace. From you he has learnt the finer arts.
But now he should also be conversant with the
art of conducting himself in female company."
As told by Indra, Chitrasen went to Urvashi and
recited Indra's request to Urvashi. "O fair
maiden, I have a message from our Lord Indra.
He has requested you to wait on the person of
exceptional capabilities. You know about whom
I speak. He is famed for his gracefulness, noble
conduct, valour, intelligence and unsurpassed
strength. He has performed one great service
to Indra. Dear maiden, I speak of Arjun. Arjun,
by virtue of his devotions, his lineage, various
skills, is capable of protecting the celestial
regions, He is equal to Indra. It is for his sake,
O Fair Maiden, Indra wants your assistance. Let
this hero partake the joys and delights of
heaven at your feet."
Urvashi smiled and with a glad heart said with
folded hands, "In obedience to Lord Indra and
out of respect for you, as well as moved by the
splendour of the virtues of Arjun, I accept him
as my beloved. The God Kamadev has already
cast his spell on me." Urvashi left for her
quarters and prepared herself to meet Arjun.
She went home and then adorned her hair with
bunches of extremely fragrant flowers. She
then decked herself of the choicest jewels and
necklaces of gold. As the moon rose, she set
out from her abode. She walked down the
paths of Amaravati and the world radiated at
her beauty. As she walked past, the citizens and
even the sacred rishis looked at her beauty in
awe and they thought that there could hardly
be anyone more beautiful. Urvashi reached
Arjun's abode and she sent him a word through
a messenger. Soon the messenger returned and
asked her to enter. Seeing Urvashi at that time
of the hour at his place, Arjun was anxious and
got up to receive her in all respect.
Arjun saluted her and said, "O foremost
amongst the apsaras, I bow to you in
reverence. Command me and I shall wait on
you as a servant."
Hearing this, Urvashi was taken aback and said,
"O hero, Lord Indra and Chitrasen have
commanded me to serve upon you and not the
other way round. Thus commanded and
affected by the shafts of Kamadev, I have come
to serve you in your every need."
But Arjun was aghast. Holding his head in
hands in anguish, and shutting his eyes, he
said, "O Blessed Lady, it causes me great pain
and unhappiness to hear such words from you.
You are worthy of being a wife of someone
much superior. I respect you like my mother
Kunti and devi Sachi, the queen of Indra."
Urvashi flew into a rage. She challenged Arjun
and asked him whether or not he was gazing at
her intently during her performance. Arjun
replied, "O lady, it is indeed true that I looked
at you in awe and delight. But it was only with
the thought and remembrance that this
graceful lady is the mother of the Kuru
race" (Urvashi and Pururava story).
But a furious Urvashi tried to reason, "O Son
of Indra, we apsaras live to give pleasure to all.
Therefore do not elevate us to the status of
someone great. The sons and grandsons of
Pururava have come here as a consequence of
their ascetic merit. They have accepted our
services without incurring sin. So, O Lord, do
not send me away and allow me to be devoted
to you."
Arjun replied, "O beautiful lady, may the lord
of the four cardinal points hear what I say. I
bow my head to you and lay prostrate before
you accepting you as my mother. I shall protect
you as a son protects his mother."
Hearing this, Urvashi's anger knew no bounds.
She flared up and in a furious tone uttered,
"Since you have scorned a woman, who came
to you as commanded by your father, and on
her own free will, since you discard the love
and affection of a woman affected by the shafts
of Kamadev and put her into an agony, I curse
you. I curse you that henceforth you shall loose
your manhood. You will now spend all your
time amongst women, as an unrespected, as a
dancer, shall be regarded destitute and
disdained as a eunuch." Having cursed Arjun,
Urvashi left.
Arjun felt miserable and he did not know what
he had done to deserve this curse. He went and
narrated the events to Chitrasen. Chitrasen in
turn narrated the events to Indra. Indra called
Arjun and said affectionately to him, "O mighty
son of mine, you have surpassed my
expectations by showing exceptional self-
control that is not displayed even amongst the
great rishis. Although Urvashi's curse cannot be
counterminded, I will bless you with the effect
that the curse shall not afflict you for more
than a year. You can even choose the time for
this curse to begin and end. In time you will see
that curse will actually be a boon to you."
"How so, my Lord?" asked Arjun.
Indra smiled and said, "You all have to spend
one year of the exile incognito. You can use
this curse to disguise yourself as a eunuch and
no one will ever recognize you. When the year
is finished, you will automatically regain your
manhood."
A relieved Arjun returned to Chitrasen and
continued his lessons in singing, dancing and
playing musical instruments.
As the days passed by, one day Sage Lomasha
arrived at Indra's assembly. There he was
amazed to see Arjun seated next to Indra on his
throne. He started thinking, "What acts of
merit has this person performed to occupy the
seat that is worshipped by the Gods?". Lord
Indra perceived the thoughts of the great rishi
and said,
"O Brahmrshi, Arjun is no mere mortal, though
he is born among men. He is born to Kunti out
of my grace. He came here to acquire some
weapons to cleanse the earth if all evil. This is
as per the deign of destiny. O great sage, you
are well aware of the many avatars of Vishnu -
matsya, kurma, varaha, Narsinha, Vaaman,
Parashuram and Ram. Well Lord Krishna is yet
another of avatar of Vishnu or Narayan. Arjun
here is Nara, the counterpart of Narayan.
These holy sages Nara and Narayan have spent
ages in the asylum of Badri at the mouth of the
Ganga. These rishis have been born amongst
men at my behest to exterminate all sin on
earth, get rid of the asuras. These asuras have
gained great strength and power via many ill-
gotten boons and causing great harm. Without
doubt Krishna and Arjun will destroy all these
demons. But so insignificant a task cannot be
for Krishna for he is the embodiment of untold
power. His radiance can destroy the entire
universe."
"Arjun however will perform this task for us
and he is precisely here for that reason. But O
rishi, Arjun is worried about his brothers in the
forest. Please seek out Yudhishthir and tell him
not to be anxious of Arjun. You will find him in
Kamyaka forest. Impress upon Yudhishthir that
Arjun has secured the celestial weapons and
shall soon return. Meanwhile he should
undertake the sacred pilgrimage of the four
dhams and all the pious places. I request you
to accompany Yudhishthir to these sacred
places to cleanse their sins. Your august
company and ascetic powers shall protect them
of all dangerous rakshasas and beings that find
abode in these places."
Arjun also repeated the same request of Sage
Lomasha.
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