Laurel · Vyasa · The Mahabharata (condensed)

Krishna's Speech at Hastina

Vyasa (about 400 BC), translated by Romesh Chunder Dutt · 1899

trochaic octameter · rhyming couplets · 86 lines · from The Mahabharata (condensed)

Silent sat the listening chieftains in Hastina's council hall,With the voice of rolling thunder Krishna spake unto them all:

"Listen, mighty Dhrita-rashtra, Kuru's great and ancient king,Seek not war and death of kinsmen, word of peace and love I bring!

'Midst the wide earth's many nations Bharats in their worth excel,Love and kindness, spotless virtue, in the Kuru-elders dwell,

Father of the noble nation, now retired from life's turmoil,Ill beseems that sin or untruth should thy ancient bosom soil!

For thy sons in impious anger seek to do their kinsmen wrong,And withhold the throne and kingdom which by right to them belong,

And a danger thus ariseth like the comet's baleful fire,Slaughtered kinsmen, bleeding nations, soon shall feed its fatal ire!

Stretch thy hands, O Kuru monarch! prove thy truth and holy grace,Man of peace! avert the slaughter and preserve thy ancient race.

Yet restrain thy fiery children, for thy mandates they obey,I with sweet and soft persuasion Pandu's truthful sons will sway.

'Tis thy profit, Kuru monarch! that the fatal feud should cease,Brave Duryodhan, good Yudhishthir, rule in unmolested peace,

Pandu's sons are strong in valour, mighty in their armed hand,INDRA shall not shake thy empire when they guard the Kuru land!

Bhishma is thy kingdom's bulwark, doughty Drona rules the war,Karna matchless with his arrows, Kripa peerless in his car,

Let Yudhishthir and stout Bhima by these noble warriors stand,And let helmet-wearing Arjun guard the sacred Kuru land,

Who shall then contest thy prowess from the sea to farthest sea,Ruler of a world-wide empire, king of kings and nations free?

Sons and grandsons, friends and kinsmen, will surround thee in a ring,And a race of loving heroes guard their ancient hero-king!

Dhrita-rashtra's lofty edicts will proclaim his boundless sway,Nations work his righteous mandates and the kings his will obey!

If this concord be rejected and the lust of war prevail,Soon within these ancient chambers will resound the sound of wail!

Grant thy children be victorious and the sons of Pandu slain,Dear to thee are Pandu's children, and their death must cause thee pain!

But the Pandavs skilled in warfare are renowned both near and far,And thy race and children's slaughter will methinks pollute this war,

Sons and grandsons, loving princes, thou shalt never see again,Kinsmen brave and car-borne chieftains will bedeck the gory plain!

Ponder yet, O ancient monarch! Rulers of each distant State,Nations from the farthest regions gather thick to court their fate,

Father of a righteous nation! Save the princes of the land,On the armed and fated nations stretch, old man, thy saving hand!

Say the word, and at thy bidding leaders of each hostile raceNot the gory field of battle, but the festive board will grace,

Robed in jewels, decked in garlands, they will quaff the ruddy wine,Greet their foes in mutual kindness, bless thy holy name and thine!

Think, O man of many seasons! When good Pandu left this throne,And his helpless loving orphans thou didst cherish as thine own,

'Twas thy helping steadying fingers taught their infant steps to frame,'Twas thy loving gentle accents taught their lips to lisp each name,

As thine own they grew and blossomed, dear to thee they yet remain,Take them back unto thy bosom, be a father once again!

Unto thee, O Dhrita-rashtra! Pandu's sons in homage bend,And a loving peaceful message through my willing lips they send:

Tell our monarch, more than father, by his sacred stern commandWe have lived in pathless jungle, wandered far from land to land,

True unto our plighted promise, for we ever felt and knew,To his promise Dhrita-rashtra cannot, will not be untrue!

Years of anxious toil are over and of woe and bitterness,Years of waiting and of watching, years of danger and distress.

Like a dark unending midnight hung on us this age forlorn,Streaks of hope and dawning brightness usher now the radiant morn!

Be unto us as a father, loving not inspired by wrath,Be unto us as preceptor, pointing us the righteous path,

If perchance astray we wander, thy strong arm shall lead aright,If our feeble bosom fainteth, help us with a father's might!

This, O king! the soft entreaty Pandu's sons to thee have made,These are words the sons of Pandu unto Kuru's king have said,

Take their love, O gracious monarch! Let thy closing days be fair,Let Duryodhan keep his kingdom, let the Pandavs have their share.

Call to mind their noble suffering, for the tale is dark and longOf the outrage they have suffered, of the insult and the wrong!

Exiled into Varnavata, destined unto death by flame,For the gods assist the righteous, they with added prowess came!

Exiled into Indra-prastha, by their toil and by their mightCleared a forest, built a city, did the rajasuya rite!

Cheated of their realm and empire and of all they called their own,In the jungle they have wandered and in Matsya lived unknown,

Once more quelling every evil they are stout of heart and hand,Now redeem thy plighted promise and restore their throne and land!

Trust me, mighty Dhrita-rashtra! trust me, lords who grace this hall,Krishna pleads for peace and virtue, blessings unto you and all!

Slaughter not the armed nations, slaughter not thy kith and kin,Mark not, king, thy closing winters with the bloody stain of sin!

Let thy sons and Pandu's children stand beside thy ancient throne,Cherish peace and cherish virtue, for thy days are almost done!"

Words in this poem 23

dwell v. i.: To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
turmoil v. t.: To harass with commotion; to disquiet; to worry.
untruth n.: The quality of being untrue; contrariety to truth; want of veracity; also, treachery; faithlessness; disloyalty.
shall v. i.: To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
bulwark n.: A rampart; a fortification; a bastion or outwork. [Akin to D. bolwerk, G. bollwerk, Sw. bolwerk, Dan. bolvärk, bulvärk, rampart; akin to G. bohle plank, and werk work, defense. See Bole stem, and Work, n., and c]
doughty a.: Able; strong; valiant; redoubtable; as, a doughty hero.
prowess n.: Distinguished bravery; valor; especially, military bravery and skill; gallantry; intrepidity; fearlessness. Chaucer. Sir P. Sidney. [OF. proece, proesce, F. prouesse. See Prow, a.]
lust v. i.: To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
methinks v.: It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
shalt: 2d per. sing. of Shall.
bedeck v. t.: To deck, ornament, or adorn; to grace.
gory a.: Covered with gore or clotted blood. [From Gore.]
quaff v. t.: To drink with relish; to drink copiously of; to swallow in large draughts. [For quach, fr. Gael. & Ir. cuach a drinking cup; cf. L. caucus a drinking vessel. Cf. Quaigh.]
didst: , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
lisp v. i.: To pronounce the sibilant letter s imperfectly; to give s and z the sound of th; -- a defect common among children. [OE. lispen, lipsen, AS. wlisp stammering, lisping; akin to D. & OHG. lispen to lisp, G. lispeln, Sw. läspa, Dan. lespe.]
pathless a.: Having no beaten path or way; untrodden; impenetrable; as, pathless woods.
jungle n.: A dense growth of brushwood, grasses, reeds, vines, etc.; an almost impenetrable thicket of trees, canes, and reedy vegetation, as in India, Africa, Australia, and Brazil. [Hind. jangal desert, forest, jungle; Skr. ja desert.]
forlorn a.: Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
morn n.: The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
preceptor n.: One who gives commands, or makes rules; specifically, the master or principal of a school; a teacher; an instructor. [L. praeceptor, fr. praecipere to teach: cf. F. précepteur. See Precept.]
aright adv.: Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
entreaty n.: Treatment; reception; entertainment. B. Jonson.
kith n.: Acquaintance; kindred. [OE. kith, cu, AS. cc known. Uncouth, Can, and cf. Kythe.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Krishna's Speech at Hastina is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Mahabharata (condensed), Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, the Romesh Chunder Dutt translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Vyasa, Krishna's Speech at Hastina, in The Mahabharata (condensed) (1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mahabharata/krishna-s-speech-at-hastina.html, id L15800.

Form and metre

Krishna's Speech at Hastina is 86 lines in 43 stanzas of 2 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 91% of the lines. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.

See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic octameter.

Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.

Rhyme words, stanza by stanza

The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.

1 AA hall^A · all^A
2 AA king^A · bring^A
3 AA excel^A · dwell^A
4 AA turmoil^A · soil^A
5 AA wrong^A · belong^A
6 AA fire^A · ire^A
7 AA grace^A · race^A
8 AA obey^A · sway^A
9 AA cease^A · peace^A
10 AA hand^A · land^A
12 AA stand^A · land^A
13 AA sea^A · free^A
14 AA ring^A · king^A
15 AA sway^A · obey^A
16 AA prevail^A · wail^A
17 AA slain^A · pain^A
19 AA again^A · plain^A
20 AA state^A · fate^A
21 AA land^A · hand^A
22 AA race^A · grace^A
23 AA wine^A · thine^A
24 AA throne^A · own^A
25 AA frame^A · name^A
26 AA remain^A · again^A
27 AA bend^A · send^A
28 AA command^A · land^A
29 AA knew^A · untrue^A
30 AA bitterness^A · distress^A
31 AA forlorn^A · morn^A
32 AA wrath^A · path^A
33 AA aright^A · might^A
35 AA fair^A · share^A
36 AA long^A · wrong^A
37 AA flame^A · came^A
38 AA might^A · rite^A
39 AA own^A · unknown^A
40 AA hand^A · land^A
41 AA hall^A · all^A
42 AA kin^A · sin^A

Scansion, line by line

Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic octameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
Silent sat the listening chieftains in Hastina's council hall,	15	/˘··/˘/˘····/˘·
With the voice of rolling thunder Krishna spake unto them all:	15	····/˘/˘/˘·····
"Listen, mighty Dhrita-rashtra, Kuru's great and ancient king,	15	/˘/˘········/˘·
Seek not war and death of kinsmen, word of peace and love I bring!	15	···············
'Midst the wide earth's many nations Bharats in their worth excel,	15	····/˘/˘·····˘/
Love and kindness, spotless virtue, in the Kuru-elders dwell,	15	··/˘/˘/˘····/˘·
Father of the noble nation, now retired from life's turmoil,	15	/˘··/˘/˘·˘/··/·
Ill beseems that sin or untruth should thy ancient bosom soil!	15	······˘/··/˘/˘·
For thy sons in impious anger seek to do their kinsmen wrong,	16	····˘/˘/˘·······
And withhold the throne and kingdom which by right to them belong,	15	·˘/···/˘·····˘/
And a danger thus ariseth like the comet's baleful fire,	16	··/˘·˘/˘··/˘/˘/˘
Slaughtered kinsmen, bleeding nations, soon shall feed its fatal ire!	15	/˘··/˘/˘····/˘·
Stretch thy hands, O Kuru monarch! prove thy truth and holy grace,	15	······/·····/˘·
Man of peace! avert the slaughter and preserve thy ancient race.	15	···˘/·/˘·˘/·/˘·
Yet restrain thy fiery children, for thy mandates they obey,	15	·˘/·/˘/˘··/··˘/
I with sweet and soft persuasion Pandu's truthful sons will sway.	15	·····˘/˘··/˘···
'Tis thy profit, Kuru monarch! that the fatal feud should cease,	15	··/˘··/···/˘···
Brave Duryodhan, good Yudhishthir, rule in unmolested peace,	15	···········˘/˘·
Pandu's sons are strong in valour, mighty in their armed hand,	15	······/˘/˘···˘·
INDRA shall not shake thy empire when they guard the Kuru land!	15	······/˘·······
Bhishma is thy kingdom's bulwark, doughty Drona rules the war,	15	····/˘/˘/˘·····
Karna matchless with his arrows, Kripa peerless in his car,	15	··/˘··/˘··/˘···
Let Yudhishthir and stout Bhima by these noble warriors stand,	15	··········/˘/˘·
And let helmet-wearing Arjun guard the sacred Kuru land,	15	··/˘/˘····/˘···
Who shall then contest thy prowess from the sea to farthest sea,	15	···˘/·/˘····/˘·
Ruler of a world-wide empire, king of kings and nations free?	15	/˘····/˘····/˘·
Sons and grandsons, friends and kinsmen, will surround thee in a ring,	15	··/······˘/····
And a race of loving heroes guard their ancient hero-king!	15	····/˘/˘··/˘/˘·
Dhrita-rashtra's lofty edicts will proclaim his boundless sway,	15	····/˘/˘·˘/·/˘·
Nations work his righteous mandates and the kings his will obey!	15	/˘··/˘/······˘/
If this concord be rejected and the lust of war prevail,	15	··/··˘/˘·····˘/
Soon within these ancient chambers will resound the sound of wail!	15	····/˘/˘··/····
Grant thy children be victorious and the sons of Pandu slain,	15	··/˘·˘/˘·······
Dear to thee are Pandu's children, and their death must cause thee pain!	15	······/˘·······
But the Pandavs skilled in warfare are renowned both near and far,	15	······/··˘/····
And thy race and children's slaughter will methinks pollute this war,	15	····/˘/˘·˘/˘/··
Sons and grandsons, loving princes, thou shalt never see again,	15	··/·/˘/˘··/˘·˘/
Kinsmen brave and car-borne chieftains will bedeck the gory plain!	15	······/˘·˘/·/˘·
Ponder yet, O ancient monarch! Rulers of each distant State,	15	/˘··/˘/·/˘··/˘·
Nations from the farthest regions gather thick to court their fate,	15	/˘··/˘/˘/˘·····
Father of a righteous nation! Save the princes of the land,	15	/˘··/˘/˘··/˘···
On the armed and fated nations stretch, old man, thy saving hand!	15	····/˘/˘····/˘·
Say the word, and at thy bidding leaders of each hostile race	15	······/˘/˘··/˘·
Not the gory field of battle, but the festive board will grace,	15	··/˘··/˘··/˘···
Robed in jewels, decked in garlands, they will quaff the ruddy wine,	15	··/˘··/˘····/˘·
Greet their foes in mutual kindness, bless thy holy name and thine!	15	····/˘/˘··/˘···
Think, O man of many seasons! When good Pandu left this throne,	15	····/˘/˘·······
And his helpless loving orphans thou didst cherish as thine own,	15	··/˘/˘/˘··/˘···
'Twas thy helping steadying fingers taught their infant steps to frame,	15	··/˘/˘/˘··/˘···
'Twas thy loving gentle accents taught their lips to lisp each name,	15	··/˘/˘/˘·······
As thine own they grew and blossomed, dear to thee they yet remain,	15	······/˘·····˘/
Take them back unto thy bosom, be a father once again!	15	······/˘··/˘·˘/
Unto thee, O Dhrita-rashtra! Pandu's sons in homage bend,	15	············/˘·
And a loving peaceful message through my willing lips they send:	15	··/˘/˘/˘··/˘···
Tell our monarch, more than father, by his sacred stern command	15	·//···/˘··/˘·˘/
We have lived in pathless jungle, wandered far from land to land,	15	····/˘/˘/˘·····
True unto our plighted promise, for we ever felt and knew,	15	···//˘/˘··/˘···
To his promise Dhrita-rashtra cannot, will not be untrue!	15	··/˘····/˘···˘/
Years of anxious toil are over and of woe and bitterness,	15	··/˘········/˘˘
Years of waiting and of watching, years of danger and distress.	15	··/˘··/˘··/˘·˘/
Like a dark unending midnight hung on us this age forlorn,	15	···˘/˘/······˘/
Streaks of hope and dawning brightness usher now the radiant morn!	15	····/˘/˘/˘··/˘·
Be unto us as a father, loving not inspired by wrath,	15	······/˘/˘·˘/··
Be unto us as preceptor, pointing us the righteous path,	15	·····˘/˘/˘··/˘·
If perchance astray we wander, thy strong arm shall lead aright,	15	·˘/˘/·/˘·····˘/
If our feeble bosom fainteth, help us with a father's might!	15	·//˘/˘/˘····/˘·
This, O king! the soft entreaty Pandu's sons to thee have made,	15	·····˘/˘·······
These are words the sons of Pandu unto Kuru's king have said,	15	···············
Take their love, O gracious monarch! Let thy closing days be fair,	15	····/˘/···/˘···
Let Duryodhan keep his kingdom, let the Pandavs have their share.	15	······/˘·······
Call to mind their noble suffering, for the tale is dark and long	15	····/˘/˘·······
Of the outrage they have suffered, of the insult and the wrong!	15	··/···/˘··/····
Exiled into Varnavata, destined unto death by flame,	15	/·······/˘·····
For the gods assist the righteous, they with added prowess came!	15	···˘/·/˘··/˘/˘·
Exiled into Indra-prastha, by their toil and by their might	15	/··············
Cleared a forest, built a city, did the rajasuya rite!	15	·˘·/˘··/˘······
Cheated of their realm and empire and of all they called their own,	15	/˘····/˘·······
In the jungle they have wandered and in Matsya lived unknown,	15	··/˘··/˘·····˘/
Once more quelling every evil they are stout of heart and hand,	15	··/˘/˘/˘·······
Now redeem thy plighted promise and restore their throne and land!	15	·˘/·/˘/˘·˘/····
Trust me, mighty Dhrita-rashtra! trust me, lords who grace this hall,	15	··/˘···········
Krishna pleads for peace and virtue, blessings unto you and all!	15	/˘····/˘/˘·····
Slaughter not the armed nations, slaughter not thy kith and kin,	15	/˘···˘/˘/˘·····
Mark not, king, thy closing winters with the bloody stain of sin!	15	····/˘/˘··/˘···
Let thy sons and Pandu's children stand beside thy ancient throne,	15	······/˘·˘/·/˘·
Cherish peace and cherish virtue, for thy days are almost done!"	15	/˘··/˘/˘····/··

The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.

More by Vyasa

The Mahabharata (condensed)