The Tumult
Spake the suitors, anger-shaken, like a forest tempest-torn,As Panchala's courteous monarch came to greet a Brahman-born:
"Shall he like the grass of jungle trample us in haughty pride,To a prating priest and Brahman wed the proud and peerless bride?
To our hopes like nourished saplings shall he now the fruit deny,Monarch proud who insults monarchs sure a traitor's death shall die,
Honour for his rank we know not, have no mercy for his age,Perish foe of crowned monarchs, victim to our righteous rage!
Hath he asked us to his palace, favoured us with royal grace,Feasted us with princely bounty, but to compass our disgrace,
In this concourse of great monarchs, glorious like a heavenly band,Doth he find no likely suitor for his beauteous daughter's hand?
And this rite of swayamvara, so our sacred laws ordain,Is for warlike Kshatras only, priests that custom shall not stain,
If this maiden on a Brahman casts her eye, devoid of shame,Let her expiate her folly in a pyre of blazing flame!
Leave the priestling in his folly sinning through a Brahman's greed,For we wage no war with Brahmans and forgive a foolish deed,
Much we owe to holy Brahmans for our realm and wealth and life,Blood of priest or wise preceptor shall not stain our noble strife,
In the blood of sinful Drupad we the righteous laws maintain,Such disgrace in future ages monarchs shall not meet again!"
Spake the suitors, tiger-hearted, iron-handed, bold and strong'Fiercely bent on blood and vengeance blindly rose the maddened throng,
On they came, the angry monarchs, armed for cruel vengeful strife,Drupad midst the holy Brahmans trembling fled for fear of life,
Like wild elephants of jungle rushed the kings upon their foes,Calm and stately, stalwart Bhima and the gallant Arjun rose!
With a wilder rage the monarchs viewed these brothers cross their path,Rushed upon the daring warriors for to slay them in their wrath,
Weaponless was noble Bhima, but in strength like lightning's brand,Tore a tree with peerless prowess, shook it as a mighty wand!
And the foe-compelling warrior held that mace of living wood,Strong as death with deadly weapon, facing all his foes he stood,
Arjun too with godlike valour stood unmoved, his bow in hand,Side by side the dauntless brothers faced the fierce and fiery band!
Words in this poem 27
- 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,]
- 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.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- favoured a.
- Countenanced; aided; regarded with kidness; as, a favored friend.
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- concourse n.
- A moving, flowing, or running together; confluence. [F. concours, L. concursus, fr. concurrere to run together. See Concur.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- suitor n.
- One who sues, petitions, or entreats; a petitioner; an applicant.
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- pyre n.
- A funeral pile; a combustible heap on which the dead are burned; hence, any pile to be burnt. [L. pure, Gr. Fire.]
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- 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.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- blindly adv.
- Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own.
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- vengeful a.
- Vindictive; retributive; revengeful.
- rushed a.
- Abounding or covered with rushes.
- stalwart a.
- Brave; bold; strong; redoubted; daring; vehement; violent. [OE. stalworth, AS. stælwyrth serviceable, probably originally, good at stealing, or worth stealing or taking, and afterwards extended to other causes of estimat]
- weaponless a.
- Having no weapon.
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- 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.]
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- unmoved a.
- Not moved; fixed; firm; unshaken; calm; apathetic.
- dauntless a.
- Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Tumult 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, The Tumult, in The Mahabharata (condensed) (1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mahabharata/the-tumult.html, id L15769.
Form and metre
The Tumult is 36 lines in 18 stanzas of 2 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 94% of the lines. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.0 syllables.
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 tornA · bornA
- 2 AA prideA · brideA
- 3 AA denyA · dieA
- 4 AA ageA · rageA
- 5 AA graceA · disgraceA
- 6 AA bandA · handA
- 7 AA ordainA · stainA
- 8 AA shameA · flameA
- 9 AA greedA · deedA
- 10 AA lifeA · strifeA
- 11 AA maintainA · againA
- 12 AA strongA · throngA
- 13 AA strifeA · lifeA
- 14 AA foesA · roseA
- 15 AA pathA · wrathA
- 17 AA woodA · stoodA
- 18 AA handA · bandA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Spake the suitors, anger-shaken, like a forest tempest-torn, | 15 | ··/˘/˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| As Panchala's courteous monarch came to greet a Brahman-born: | 15 | ····/˘/········ |
| "Shall he like the grass of jungle trample us in haughty pride, | 15 | ······/˘/˘··/˘· |
| To a prating priest and Brahman wed the proud and peerless bride? | 15 | ············/˘· |
| To our hopes like nourished saplings shall he now the fruit deny, | 15 | ·/··/˘/˘·····˘/ |
| Monarch proud who insults monarchs sure a traitor's death shall die, | 15 | /···/·/···/˘··· |
| Honour for his rank we know not, have no mercy for his age, | 15 | /˘········/˘··· |
| Perish foe of crowned monarchs, victim to our righteous rage! | 15 | /˘···/·/˘·/˘/˘· |
| Hath he asked us to his palace, favoured us with royal grace, | 15 | ······/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Feasted us with princely bounty, but to compass our disgrace, | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘··/˘/˘/ |
| In this concourse of great monarchs, glorious like a heavenly band, | 15 | ··/···/·/˘··/˘· |
| Doth he find no likely suitor for his beauteous daughter's hand? | 16 | ····/˘/˘··/˘˘/˘· |
| And this rite of swayamvara, so our sacred laws ordain, | 15 | ········/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Is for warlike Kshatras only, priests that custom shall not stain, | 15 | ··/···/˘··/˘··· |
| If this maiden on a Brahman casts her eye, devoid of shame, | 15 | ··/˘·······˘/·· |
| Let her expiate her folly in a pyre of blazing flame! | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/·/˘· |
| Leave the priestling in his folly sinning through a Brahman's greed, | 15 | ······/˘/˘····· |
| For we wage no war with Brahmans and forgive a foolish deed, | 15 | ·········˘/·/˘· |
| Much we owe to holy Brahmans for our realm and wealth and life, | 15 | ····/˘···/····· |
| Blood of priest or wise preceptor shall not stain our noble strife, | 15 | ·····˘/˘···//˘· |
| In the blood of sinful Drupad we the righteous laws maintain, | 15 | ····/˘····/˘·˘/ |
| Such disgrace in future ages monarchs shall not meet again!" | 15 | ·˘/·/˘/˘/····˘/ |
| Spake the suitors, tiger-hearted, iron-handed, bold and strong' | 15 | ··/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Fiercely bent on blood and vengeance blindly rose the maddened throng, | 15 | /˘····/˘/˘··/˘· |
| On they came, the angry monarchs, armed for cruel vengeful strife, | 15 | ····/˘/···/˘/˘· |
| Drupad midst the holy Brahmans trembling fled for fear of life, | 15 | ····/˘··/˘····· |
| Like wild elephants of jungle rushed the kings upon their foes, | 15 | ··/˘˘·/˘······· |
| Calm and stately, stalwart Bhima and the gallant Arjun rose! | 15 | ··/˘/˘····/˘··· |
| With a wilder rage the monarchs viewed these brothers cross their path, | 15 | ··/˘··/···/˘··· |
| Rushed upon the daring warriors for to slay them in their wrath, | 15 | ····/˘/˘······· |
| Weaponless was noble Bhima, but in strength like lightning's brand, | 15 | /˘˘·/˘······/˘· |
| Tore a tree with peerless prowess, shook it as a mighty wand! | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
| And the foe-compelling warrior held that mace of living wood, | 15 | ···˘/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Strong as death with deadly weapon, facing all his foes he stood, | 15 | ····/˘/˘/˘····· |
| Arjun too with godlike valour stood unmoved, his bow in hand, | 15 | ····/˘/˘·˘/···· |
| Side by side the dauntless brothers faced the fierce and fiery band! | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
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