Mercy Part II

This is part of my ongoing series on the Mahabharat, an epic poem of ancient India. For links to all previous Mahabharat posts go here. Or you can simply click on the Mahabharat page link above.


Two weeks ago we saw that a prophecy was made that Krishna would kill his cousin Shishupal. To read that part go here.

Krishna then made a vow to his aunt Srutadeva that he would show mercy to Shishupal one hundred times. This is what happened next:


As Shishupal grew up, Srutadeva began to notice his aversion to Krishna. At first she thought it was only his childish whims and tantrums but as he grew into a teenager she realised that he truly hated his cousin. If Krishna visited Chedi, Shishupal would leave the palace and not return until Krishna left. If someone happened to mention Krishna's heroic deeds then Shishupal would get into a fight with them.

Baffled - and worried - Srutadeva tried to talk to her son about it but when she gently said that Krishna was his brother, Shishupal flew into a rage.

"He's not my brother!" he roared, throwing a chair across the room. "He's not even my cousin!"

"What-what are you saying?" she cried. "He's your Uncle Vasudev's son. And stop that!" she added when he lifted another chair and smashed it against the marble floor.

"He grew up a cowherd! There's no proof he's royalty!"

"Son-"

"No!" Shishupal screamed. "I hate him. I hate him!"

"But why?"

"He's my enemy."

"But why?" Srutadeva cried again. "He's only ever been kind to you."

"He's a fraud. He's fooled everyone, including you. But I'm not stupid. I know he's my enemy."

"Shishupal, you're only hurting yourself with these thoughts. He's your brother. He loves you."

Shishupal threw his handsome head up and laughed. "Love! I don't want any love from him."

"But what has he done to make you feel like this?"

"He's always so perfect. Everybody loves him. But they don't see the real him. They're too stupid to see that he's all lies and trickery."

Srutadeva could do nothing but stand there with her mouth gaping as Shishupal stalked out.

She tried many times to talk to him but nothing she said worked. If anything, Shishupal became worse. He fell in with the wrong friends. He got into brawls. He came home drunk more times than sober.

Srutadeva tried to make her husband discipline him but the King of Chedi said that Shishupal was just growing into a young man. Young men were always wild, he told her.

There was no denying that in many ways Shishupal was a son to be proud of. He was intelligent in his studies, strong in his training, and so handsome he made the girls swoon on sight. He was also ever ready to serve his father in political matters. In fact, he led the way in making alliances with other countries, becoming close friends with Jarasandth of Magadh who was one of the most powerful kings of that region.

Srutadeva saw these things and thought that perhaps her husband was right, that their son had to be allowed some space to become a man.

What she didn't know was that Shishupal's alliance with Jarasandth led to the subjugation of many independent territories and the enslavement of all their kings. Jarasandth was a tyrant bent on ruling the world and he was content to do it over the deaths of innocent people. Shishupal happily shared in the booty and the blood.

The screams of those innocent people haunted Krishna at night. Especially the screams of the women. He fell asleep with their cries echoing in his mind.

But Krishna waited. He'd made a vow to his aunt. It seemed the waiting was forever.

There were times when he was able to actively prevent Shishupal's ugly deeds such as when Krishna rode against Jarasandth's forces and managed to turn them from their targets. Then there was the time when Krishna rescued Rukmini from a forced marriage to Shishupal.

If Shishupal hadn't hated Krishna already, he would have after losing Princess Rukmini. He had a fit - literally frothed at the mouth and writhed on the ground - when he learned that Krishna had married her.

Shishupal forgot any restraint after that. He did whatever he could to bring chaos to others.

Krishna's brother, Balaram, asked Krishna why he allowed it. "If you don't want to kill him then at least don't stop me." But Krishna did stop Balaram. Every instance, he stopped him.

"It's not time," he'd say.

Yet that didn't mean Krishna wasn't making plans.

Enlisting the aid of the Pandavas, he saw to it that Jarasandth was destroyed and his reign of terror over. They did this by a private challenge to Jarasandth, avoiding an open war and thus saving thousands of lives. They then freed many kings from the dungeons in Magadh.

Shishupal had lost a powerful ally.

Then an invitation came to Krishna from the Pandavas in Indraprashta. Yudhistira was performing the sacred Rajasuya yagna and requested Krishna's presence at the event. Such a powerful sacrifice was only performed by the most virtuous and beloved kings, because the ceremony bestowed upon that king the title of Emperor. It required the consent of all other kings. Yudhistira was such an admired ruler, beloved by his people and by all the world, that he had gained that consent.

Krishna debated whether he should attend. Not because he did not love Yudhistira and the Pandavas, but because Shishupal would also be invited. Krishna did not wish to mar the yagna with his cousin's venom towards him.

But in the end he knew he had to go.

In the midst of the glittering court at Indraprashta, before all the kings of the land, the crowned Emperor Yudhistira asked his grandsire Bhishma who should be honoured as the first and foremost guest of the yagna.

"There is only one," wise Bhishma told the court. "Krishna, the son of Vasudev. Honour him, Yudhistira, for he is the salvation of the world."

Yudhistira nodded at his servants and the attendants sang songs of glory. Sahadev, the youngest of the Pandavas, led Krishna to a throne beside the Emperor, bathed Krishna's feet in rose water, and bestowed a flower garland upon him. Just as Sahadev would have marked Krishna's forehead with vermillion and proclaimed him as the first honoured, a voice roared through Indraprashta's court.

"Stop!"

As one, the entire court turned to see who had spoken.

It was Shishupal, dressed in his shining yagna finery, standing in the middle of the marble hall. "How dare you, Sahadev. How dare you treat this common cowherd as an honoured guest?"

The court was stunned.

"If anyone was to be honoured it should have been one of the elders," Shishupal said, "not this wretch who steals other men's brides!"

Balaram leaped to his feet but Krishna stayed him with a glance.

"We kings came here because we thought Yudhistira knew something of dharma," Shishupal continued, "but here Yudhistira is granting the highest honour of this yagna to an ignoble fraud. Yudhistira, you are nothing but a sniveling fool. This yagna is meaningless!"

The court gasped. Empress Draupadi looked ready to scratch Shishupal's eyes out.

"Shishupal," Prince Arjuna shouted, "one more word and-"

"Arjuna!" Yudhistira said. "Shishupal is our guest. Remember your manners."

Shishupal ignored them both. "Don't think that just because Krishna calls himself Vasudev's son that it's true," Shishupal said. "He's no more my cousin than my slave who cleans my shoes."

"Shishupal!" Balaram yelled.

"Don't," Krishna finally said.

"Don't?" Balaram sputtered. "He slanders our mother and father and Emperor Yudhistira and this holy yagna, and you stand there smiling?"

"I'm not smiling," Krishna said. "I'm counting. Shishupal, do as you will for you still have three offenses allowed to you."

"I'll do what I want when I want and you can't do a thing about it," Shishupal snapped. "You think that because Bhishma spoke highly of you that you're important? Bhishma is a senile old man who made a vow of celibacy to cover up his own limp manhood."

The entire Kuru clan roared in outrage. Even Duryodhan and Dushana were ready to kill Shishupal and they were Shishupal's friends.

He's going to start a war here, Krishna thought. Aunt, are you listening to this?

"Bhishma's vow is nothing but a pretense," Shishupal said. "Even if he hadn't taken it he'd still be a doddering old fool too impotent to make any difference."

"Shishupal!" Bhishma said, striding to the front of the dias. "If this wasn't my Yudhistira's day of triumph I would cut out your tongue."

"Let him speak, Grandsire," Krishna said, laying his hand upon Bhishma's broad shoulder. "He's not trying to insult you but me."

"I don't need your permission to talk, understand?" Shishupal snapped at Krishna. "I'll insult whoever I want and none of you fools can stop me. Especially not this imbecile Yudhistira who wishes to be called Emperor but honours peasants like you. You're nothing but a fraud who's donned royal clothing and barged into this assembly!"

"Stop," Krishna said. "No more, my brother. Don't say another word."

"I'll say a thousand words and you still couldn't do anything about it. Not you or any of these cowardly sycophants gathered here today."

Krishna took a deep breath. He raised his hand and summoned the sudarshan chakra, his divine discus weapon. It dazzled the court with golden light as it whirled around Krishna's forefinger.

"Ha!" Shishupal jeered. "Think you can frighten me with your tricks? I'll show you what a real warrior is like and then I'll show everyone else." He drew his sword.

Krishna threw his weapon.

It sliced through the air so lightning fast that even later no one could remember seeing exactly what happened.

Shishupal dropped to his knees. His handsome head wobbled on his neck, then toppled over onto the ground and rolled off the lush red carpet.

The sudarshan chakra hummed as it returned to it's master, still golden and pure despite it's lethal deed.

Krishna caught it on his finger and with a thought sent it away to it's resting place. He raised his gaze to his elder brother.

Balaram put his hand on Krishna's shoulder. "Don't be sad."

Krishna squeezed his eyes shut. "Will she understand?"


Go here to read the first part.

Go here to read the next Mahabharat post entitled Anamika = Nameless One.