Intro
Svayamvara Parva is the story of Draupadi’s marriage to the Pandavas.
https://crackpot.substack.com/t/svayamvara
As It Rhymes
1.
Vaishampayana said,
After the kings quit on dharma,
Jishnu rose from the brahmana.
2.
On seeing Indra's son step out.
The brahman began to shake and shout.
3.
Some were glad. Some were mad.
Some felt owed. Some were opposed.
4.
The pick of the litter bowmen Karna and Shalya tried.
Leonine rajas with skills failed the bow tie.
5.
Who really thinks some unknown boy will out-perform the pride?
Whoever really says so is telling a weak souled lie.
6.
This joke will make brahman the butt of the kings' belly laughs.
Karma will bite all you false prophets in the ash with a rash.
7.
The boy is proud. He is showing off. He is brash.
A good man should stop this jackass in his path.
8.
Brahman are not to be played for schlock.
Brahman are not clown stock.
Brahman are not for the world to mock.
9.
Other Brahman said, look at this Sri Man.
He struts like a Himalayan.
10-11.
He has the gait of a spring lion.
He may be an unknown scion.
He possesses per force.
His conscious is pure source.
Look at his karmic choice.
See his Indra form purr.
12-16.
On all three worlds Brahman perform.
Brahman attain deeds in every human institution.
Brahman weak from severe lack of eat gain austere constitution.
Brahman defeat distress with hardy resolution.
These are the powers of the brahmanas.
The son of Jamadagni, Parashurama, killed all kshatriyas.
If Agastya could drink the ocean flow.
Who is to say this boy cannot string that bow?
Stranger things happened back in the day.
So reluctant Brahmanas were swayed to let it be that way.
17-18.
Arjuna walked slow around the bow.
Partha bowed his head and folded his hands.
Jishnu looked like how a mountain stands.
He prayed to Shakra. His mind saw Krishna.
Dhananjaya picked up the bow as one in the know.
19-20.
Rukma, Sunitha, Vakra, Duryodhana, Shalya and Shalva all looked lame.
He handled that stiff bow no lion king could tame.
Arjuna strung that stiff bow in a blink.
Then the kin of Indra took aim.
21.
The shot was a tough line.
Plink-plink-plink-plink Partha aligned on the fifth shot.
The mark fell through the orifice of the spinning turbine.
Where it lay on the ground proved the Brahman tiger eye.
22-24.
Showers of divine flowers petaled Partha's head.
The kings felt jealous and unsettled.
The brahmanas could not believe.
The brahmanas shook their deer skin shirts and shouted with glee.
The band played trumpets, chords and drumbeat.
25.
Drupada felt joy upon seeing that enemy slayer see the light.
Drupada and his warriors would stand by Partha in a fight.
26.
In the pandemonium Yudhishthira felt sick to bed.
The son of Dharma and the twins arose and kicked it to the crib.
Dharmaraja went with glib thoughts of Yama in his head.
Visions plagued Ajatashatru of what was to ignite.
27-28.
Krishnaa felt delight at first sight.
To witness how that anonymous brahman who looked like Shakra's kid hit his passage rite.
Draupadi rushed to present Partha the garland and robe colored wedding white.
A pleased Arjuna and Panchalii looked for a strategic exit.
From the arena through a mob of cheering brahmanas the couple took flight.
In a burning ring of fire their twin flames unite.
Notes
[1] Jishnu is Arjuna. Brahman are priests. The king's dharma is to get rich or die trying.
[2] Indra's son is Arjuna.
[3] Owed - as in the opportunity to try.
[4] Raja is king. Shalya is the brother of Madri. Madri is the mother of the Pandavas Sahadeva and Nakula. Shalya and Karna's rivalry as the most feared bowmen among the Kauravas would play a significant role in Karna's undoing down the line.
[6] avahaasya - joke, big laughs
[9] Sri-man, a man with divine quality.
Himalayan elephant.
[11] Indra is the king of the Gods. Indra is Vishnu's brother. Indra wields the vajra. His mount is Airavata, the lord of elephants.
[12] All three worlds. Heaven, hell and earth.
[14] Kshatriyas are warriors.
Parashurama was an incarnation of Vishnu. He cleansed the world of Kshatriyas. As a result of the bloodletting five lakes formed. These lakes are also at the site of Kurukshetra.
[15] Agastya is a legendary sage rishi. He drained the ocean by drinking it to expose danavas hiding under the ocean for Indra.
[17] Jishnu is Arjuna. Nicknames.
[18] Dhananjaya is Arjuna. (Jaya - winner, Dhana - treasure.)
Krishna Vasudeva, the 8th incarnation of Vishnu.
[21] Partha is Arjuna. Okay a lot of liberties were taken here - the brahman are not really compared to tigers in the Sanskrit text. But the text does specify Arjuna used 5 arrows. Brahman-neva-Vyaghratsya!
[26] Yudhishthira is the son of Dharma. The twins are Nakula and Sahadeva. Though twins born of Madri, their paternal lineage is said to be split between the two Ashvins. Yama is the god of death.
Dharmaraja is a name for Yudhishthira. Ajashatru is also Yudhishthira.
Bhimasena stayed behind in the arena to celebrate with the crowd. lol.
[27] Krishnaa is Draupadi. Shakra is Indra. Partha is Arjuna.
[28] Panchalii is Krishnaa, or Draupadi.