Chapter 173
“Arjuna continued, ‘Then firmly confident, the sovereign of thecelestials considering as his own, pertinently said these words unto mewounded by cleaving shafts, ‘All the celestial weapons, O Bharata, arewith thee, so no man on earth will by any means be able to over-powerthee. And, O son, when thou art in the field, Bhishma and Drona and Kripaand Karna and Sakuni together with other Kshatriyas shall not amount untoone-sixteenth part of thee.’ And the lord Maghavan granted me this goldengarland and this shell, Devadatta, of mighty roars, and also hiscelestial mail impenetrable and capable of protecting the body. And Indrahimself set on my (head) this diadem. And Sakra presented me with theseunearthly apparels and unearthly ornaments, elegant and rare. In thismanner, O king, (duly) honoured, I delightfully dwelt in Indra’s sacredabode with the children of the Gandharvas. Then, well-pleased, Sakra,together with the celestials, addressed me, saying, ‘O Arjuna, the timehath come for thy departure; thy brothers have thought of thee.’ Thus, OBharata, remembering the dissensions arising from that gambling, did I, Oking, pass those five years in the abode of Indra. Then have I come andseen thee surrounded by our brothers on the summit of this lower range ofthe Gandhamadana.’
“Yudhishthira said, ‘O Dhananjaya, by fortune it is that the weapons havebeen obtained by thee; by fortune it is that the master of the immortalshath been adored by thee. O repressor of foes, by fortune it is that thedivine Sthanu together with the goddess had become manifest unto thee andbeen gratified by thee in battle, O sinless one; by fortune it is thatthou hadst met with the Lokapalas, O best of the Bharatas. O Partha, byfortune it is that we have prospered; and by fortune it is that thou hastcome back. To-day I consider as if the entire earth engarlanded withcities hath already been conquered, and as if the sons of Dhritarashtrahave already been subdued. Now, O Bharata, I am curious to behold thosecelestial weapons wherewith thou hadst slain the powerfulNivata-Kavachas.'”
“Thereat Arjuna said, ‘Tomorrow in the morning thou wilt see all thecelestial weapons with which I slew the fierce Nivata-Kavachas.'”
Vaisampayana said, “Thus having related (the facts touching) the arrival,Dhananjaya passed that night there, together with all his brothers.”
