Chapter 26

Vaisampayana continued,–thus addressed, Dhananjaya replied untoBhagadatta, saying,–‘If thou wilt give thy promise to do this, thou hastdone all I desire. And having thus subjugated the king of Pragjyotisha,Dhananjaya of long arms, the son of Kunti, then marched towards thenorth–the direction presided over by the lord of treasures.

That bullamongst men, that son of Kunti, then conquered the mountainous tracts andtheir outskirts, as also the hilly regions. And having conquered all themountains and the kings that reigned there, and bringing them under hissway, he exacted tributes from all. And winning the affections of thosekings and uniting himself with them, he next marched, O king, againstVrihanta, the king of Uluka, making this earth tremble with the sound ofhis drums, the clatter of his chariot-wheels, and the roar of theelephants in his train. Vrihanta, however, quickly coming out of his cityfollowed by his army consisting of four kinds of troops, gave battle toFalguna (Arjuna). And the fight that took place between Vrihanta andDhananjaya was terrible. It so happened that Vrihanta was unable to bearthe prowess of the son of Pandu. Then that invincible king of themountainous region regarding the son of Kunti irresistible, approachedhim with all his wealth. Arjuna snatched out the kingdom from Vrihanta,but having made peace with him marched, accompanied by that king, againstSenavindu whom he soon expelled from his kingdom. After this hesubjugated Modapura, Vamadeva, Sudaman, Susankula, the Northern Ulukas,and the kings of those countries and peoples. Hereafter at the command ofYudhishthira, O monarch, Arjuna, did not move from the city of Senavindubut sent his troops only and brought under his sway those five countriesand peoples. For Arjuna, having arrived at Devaprastha, the city ofSenavindu, took up his quarters there with his army consisting of fourkinds of forces. Thence, surrounded by the kings and the peoples he hadsubjugated, the hero marched against king Viswagaswa–that bull of Puru’srace. Having vanquished in battle the brave mountaineers, who were allgreat warriors, the son of Pandu, O king, then occupied with the help ofhis troops, the town protected by the Puru king. Having vanquished inbattle the Puru king, as also the robber tribes, of the mountains, theson of Pandu brought under his sway the seven tribes calledUtsava-sanketa. That bull of the Kshatriya race then defeated the braveKshatriyas of Kashmira and also king Lohita along with ten minor chiefs.Then the Trigartas, the Daravas, the Kokonadas, and various otherKshatriyas, O king, advanced against the son of Pandu. That Prince of theKuru race then took the delightful town of Avisari, and then broughtunder his sway Rochamana ruling in Uraga. Then the son of Indra (Arjuna),putting forth his might, pressed the delightful town of Singhapura thatwas well-protected with various weapons. Then Arjuna, that bull amongstthe son of Pandu, at the head of all his troops, fiercely attacked theregions called Suhma and Sumala. Then the son of Indra, endued with greatprowess, after pressing them with great force, brought the Valhikasalways difficult of being vanquished, under his sway. Then Falguna, theson of Pandu, taking with him a select force, defeated the Daradas alongwith the Kambojas. Then the exalted son of Indra vanquished the robbertribes that dwelt in the north-eastern frontier and those also that dweltin the woods. And, O great king, the son of Indra also subjugated theallied tribes of the Lohas, the eastern Kambojas, and northern Rishikas.And the battle with the Rishikas was fierce in the extreme. Indeed, thefight that took place between them and the son of Pritha was equal tothat between the gods and the Asuras in which Taraka (the wife ofVrihaspati) had become the cause of so much slaughter. And defeating, Oking, the Rishikas in the field of battle, Arjuna took from them astribute eight horses that were of the colour of the parrot’s breast, asalso other horses of the hues of the peacock, born in northern and otherclimes and endued with high speed. At last having conquered all theHimalayas and the Nishkuta mountains, that bull among men, arriving atthe White mountains, encamped on its breast.”