Chapter 268

Vaisampayana said, “The hostile Kshatriyas, incensed at sight ofBhimasena and Arjuna, sent up a loud shout in the forest. And the wickedking Jayadratha, when he saw the standards of those bulls of the Kururace, lost his heart, and addressing the resplendent Yagnaseni seated onhis car, said, ‘Those five great warriors, O Krishna, that are coming,are I believe, thy husbands. As thou knowest the sons of Pandu well, dothou, O lady of beautiful tresses, describe them one by one to us,pointing out which of them rideth which car!’ Thus addressed, Draupadireplied, ‘Having done this violent deed calculated to shorten thy life,what will it avail thee now, O fool, to know the names of those greatwarriors, for, now that my heroic husbands are come, not one of ye willbe left alive in battle. However as thou art on the point of death andhast asked me, I will tell thee everything, this being consistent withthe ordinance. Beholding king Yudhishthira the just with his youngerbrothers, I have not the slighest anxiety or fear from thee! That warriorat the top of whose flagstaff two handsome and sonorous tabours calledNanda and Upananda are constantly played upon,–he, O Sauvira chief, hatha correct knowledge of the morality of his own acts. Men that haveattained success always walk in his train. With a complexion like that ofpure gold, possessed of a prominent nose and large eyes, and endued witha slender make, that husband of mine is known among people by the name ofYudhishthira, the son of Dharma and the foremost of the Kuru race. Thatvirtuous prince of men granteth life to even a foe that yields.Therefore, O fool, throwing down thy arms and joining thy hands, run tohim for thy good, to seek his protection. And that other man whom thouseest with long arms and tall as the full-grown Sala tree, seated on hischariot, biting his lips, and contracting his forehead so as to bring thetwo eye-brows together, is he,–my husband Vrikodara! Steeds of thenoblest breed, plump and strong, well-trained and endued with greatmight, draw the cars of that warrior! His achievements are superhuman. Heis known, therefore, by the name of Bhima on earth. They that offend himare never suffered to live. He never forgetteth a foe. On some pretext orother he wrecketh his vengeance. Nor is he pacified even after he haswrecked a signal vengeance. And there, that foremost of bowmen, enduedwith intelligence and renown, with senses under complete control andreverence for the old–that brother and disciple of Yudhishthira–is myhusband Dhananjaya! Virtue he never forsaketh, from lust or fear oranger! Nor doth he ever commit a deed that is cruel. Endued with theenergy of fire and capable of withstanding every foe, that grinder ofenemies is the son of Kunti. And that other youth, versed in everyquestion of morality and profit, who ever dispelleth the fears of theaffrighted, who is endued with high wisdom, who is considered as thehandsomest person in the whole world and who is protected by all the sonsof Pandu, being regarded by them as dearer to them than their own livesfor his unflinching devotion to them, is my husband Nakula possessed ofgreat prowess. Endued with high wisdom and having Sahadeva for hissecond, possessed of exceeding lightness of hand, he fighteth with thesword, making dexterous passes therewith. Thou, foolish man, shallwitness today his performances on the field of battle, like unto those ofIndra amid the ranks of Daityas! And that hero skilled in weapons andpossessed of intelligence and wisdom, and intent on doing what isagreeable to the son of Dharma, that favourite and youngest born of thePandavas, is my husband Sahadeva! Heroic, intelligent, wise and everwrathful there is not another man equal unto him in intelligence or ineloquence amid assemblies of the wise. Dearer to Kunti than her own soul,he is always mindful of the duties of Kshatriyas, and would much soonerrush into fire or sacrifice his own life than say anything that isopposed to religion and morals. When the sons of Pandu will have killedthy warriors in battle, then wilt thou behold thy army in the miserableplight of a ship on the sea wrecked with its freight of jewels on theback of a whale. Thus have I described unto thee the prowess of the sonsof Pandu, disregarding whom in thy foolishness, thou hast acted so. Ifthou escapest unscathed from them, then, indeed thou wilt have obtained anew lease of life.'”

Vaisampayana continued, “Then those five sons of Pritha, each like untoIndra, filled with wrath, leaving the panic-stricken infantry alone whowere imploring them for mercy, rushed furiously upon the charioteers,attacking them on all sides and darkening the very air with the thickshower of arrows they shot.”