Chapter 113

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Some time after, Bhishma the intelligent son ofSantanu set his heart upon getting Pandu married to a second wife.

Accompanied by an army composed of four kinds of force, and also by agedcouncillors and Brahmanas and great Rishis, he went to the capital of theking of Madra. And that bull of the Valhikas–the king of Madra–hearingthat Bhishma had arrived, went out to receive him. And having receivedhim with respect, he got him to enter his palace. Arriving there, theking of Madra offered unto Bhishma a white carpet for a seat; water towash his feet with, and usual oblation of various ingredients indicativeof respect. And when he was seated at ease, the king asked him about thereason of his visit. Then Bhishma–the supporter of the dignity of theKurus–addressed the king of Madra and said, ‘O oppressor of all foes,know that I have come for the hand of a maiden. It hath been heard by usthat thou hast a sister named Madri celebrated for her beauty and enduedwith every virtue; I would chose her for Pandu. Thou art, O king, inevery respect worthy of an alliance with us, and we also are worthy ofthee. Reflecting upon all this, O king of Madra, accept us duly.’ Theruler of Madra, thus addressed by Bhishma, replied, ‘To my mind, there isnone else than one of thy family with whom I can enter into an alliance.But there is a custom in our family observed by our ancestors, which, beit good or bad, I am incapable of transgressing. It is well-known, andtherefore is known to thee as well, I doubt not. Therefore, it is notproper for thee to say to me,–Bestow thy sister. The custom to which Iallude is our family custom. With us that is a virtue and worthy ofobservance. It is for this only, O slayer of foes, I cannot give thee anyassurance in the matter of thy request.’ On hearing this, Bhishmaanswered the king of Madra, saying, ‘O king, this, no doubt,’ is avirtue. The self-create himself hath said it. Thy ancestors wereobservant of custom. There is no fault to find with it. It is alsowell-known, O Salya, that this custom in respect of family dignity haththe approval of the wise and the good.’ Saying this Bhishma of greatenergy, gave unto Salya much gold both coined and uncoined, and preciousstones of various colours by thousands, and elephants and horses andcars, and much cloth and many ornaments, and gems and pearls and corals.And Salya accepting with a cheerful heart those precious gifts then gaveaway his sister decked in ornaments unto that bull of the Kuru race. Thenthe wise Bhishma, the son of the oceangoing Ganga, rejoiced at the issueof his mission, took Madri with him, and returned to the Kuru capitalnamed after the elephant.

“Then selecting on auspicious day and moment as indicated by the wise forthe ceremony, King Pandu was duly united with Madri. And after thenuptials were over, the Kuru king established his beautiful bride inhandsome apartments. And, O king of kings, that best of monarchs thengave himself up to enjoyment in the company of his two wives as best heliked and to the limit of his desires. And after thirty days had elapsed,the Kuru king, O monarch, started from his capital for the conquest ofthe world. And after reverentially saluting and bowing to Bhishma and theother elders of the Kuru race, and with adieus to Dhritarashtra andothers of the family, and obtaining their leave, he set out on his grandcampaign, accompanied by a large force of elephants, horses, and cars,and well-pleased with the blessings uttered by all around and theauspicious rites performed by the citizens for his success. And Pandu,accompanied by such a strong force marched against various foes. And thattiger among men–that spreader of the fame of the Kurus–first subjugatedthe robber tribes of asarna. He next turned his army composed ofinnumerable elephants, cavalry, infantry, and charioteers, with standardsof various colours against Dhirga–the ruler of the kingdom of Maghadhawho was proud of his strength, and offended against numerous monarchs.And attacking him in his capital, Pandu slew him there, and tookeverything in his treasury and also vehicles and draught animals withoutnumber. He then marched into Mithila and subjugated the Videhas. Andthen, O bull among men, Pandu led his army against Kasi, Sumbha, andPundra, and by the strength and prowess of his arms spread the fame ofthe Kurus. And Pandu, that oppressor of foes, like unto a mighty firewhose far-reaching flames were represented by his arrows and splendour byhis weapons, began to consume all kings that came in contact with him.These with their forces, vanquished by Pandu at the head of his army,were made the vassals of the Kurus. And all kings of the world, thusvanquished by him, regarded him as the one single hero on earth even asthe celestials regard Indra in heaven. And the kings of earth with joinedpalms bowed to him and waited on him with presents of various kinds ofgems and wealth, precious stones and pearls and corals, and much gold andsilver, and first-class kine and handsome horses and fine cars andelephants, and asses and camels and buffaloes, and goats and sheep, andblankets and beautiful hides, and cloths woven out of furs. And the kingof Hastinapura accepting those offerings retraced his steps towards hiscapital, to the great delight of his subjects. And the citizens andothers filled with joy, and kings and ministers, all began to say, ‘O,the fame of the achievements of Santanu, that tiger among kings, and ofthe wise Bharata, which were about to die, hath been revived by Pandu.They who robbed before the Kurus of both territory and wealth have beensubjugated by Pandu–the tiger of Hastinapura–and made to pay tribute.’And all the citizens with Bhishma at their head went out to receive thevictorious king. They had not proceeded far when they saw the attendantsof the king laden with much wealth, and the train of various conveyancesladen with all kinds of wealth, and of elephants, horses, cars, kine,camels and other animals, was so long that they saw not its end. ThenPandu, beholding Bhishma, who was a father to him, worshipped his feetand saluted the citizens and others as each deserved. And Bhishma, too,embracing Pandu as his son who had returned victorious after grindingmany hostile kingdoms, wept tears of joy. And Pandu, instilling joy intothe hearts of his people with a flourish of trumpets and conchs andkettle-drums, entered his capital.'”