Chapter 39
Vaisampayana said, “After all those illustrious ascetics had gone away,that wielder of the Pinaka and cleanser of all sins–the illustriousHara–assuming the form of a Kirata resplendent as a golden tree, andwith a huge and stalwart form like a second Meru, and taking up a handsome bow and a number of arrows resembling snakes of virulent poison, andlooking like an embodiment of fire, came quickly down on the breast ofHimavat. And the handsome god of gods was accompanied by Uma in the guiseof a Kirata woman, and also by a swarm of merry spirits of various formsand attire, and by thousands of women in the form and attire of Kiratas.And, O king, that region suddenly blazed up in beauty, in consequence ofthe arrival of the god of gods in such company. And soon enough a solemnstillness pervaded the place. The sounds of springs, and water-courses,and of birds suddenly ceased. And as the god of gods approached Pritha’sson of blameless deeds, he beheld a wonderful sight, even that of aDanava named Muka, seeking, in the form of a boar, to slay Arjuna.Phalguna, at the sight of the enemy seeking to slay him, took up theGandiva and a number of arrows resembling snakes of virulent poison. Andstringing his bow and filling the air with its twang, he addressed theboar and said, ‘I have come here but done thee no injury. As thou seekestto slay me, I shall certainly send thee to the abode of Yama.’ Andbeholding that firm wielder of the bow–Phalguna–about to slay the boar,Sankara in the guise of a Kirata suddenly bade him stop saying, ‘The boarlike the mountain of Indrakila in hue hath been aimed at by me first’;Phalguna, however, disregarding these words, struck the boar. The Kirataalso blazing splendour, let fly an arrow like flaming fire and resemblingthe thunderbolt at the same object. And the arrows thus shot by both fellat the same instant of time upon the wide body of Muka, hard as adamant.And the two shafts fell upon the boar with a loud sound, even like thatof Indra’s thunderbolt and the thunder of the clouds falling togetherupon the breast of a mountain. And Muka, thus struck by two shafts whichproduced numerous arrows resembling snakes of blazing mouths, yielded uphis life, assuming once more his terrible Rakshasa form. Jishnu–thatslayer of foes–then beheld before him that person, of form blazing asgod, and attired in the dress of a Kirata and accompanied by many women.And beholding him, the son of Kunti with a joyous heart addressed himsmilingly and said, ‘Who art thou that thus wanderest in these solitarywoods, surrounded by women? thou of the splendour of gold, art thou notafraid of this terrible forest? Why, again, didst thou shoot the boarthat was first aimed at by me? This Rakshasa that came hither, listlesslyor with the object, of slaying me, had been first aimed at by me. Thoushalt not, therefore, escape from me with life. Thy behaviour towards meis not consistent with the customs of the chase. Therefore, Omountaineer, I will take thy life.’ Thus addressed by the son of Pandu,the Kirata, smiling replied unto his capable of wielding the bow with hisleft hand, in soft words, saying, ‘O hero, thou needst not be anxious onmy account. This forest land is proper abode for us who always dwell inthe woods. Respecting thyself, however, I may inquire, why thou hastselected thy abode here amid such difficulties. We, O ascetic, have ourhabitation in these woods abounding in animals of all kinds. Why dostthou, so delicate and brought up in luxury and possessed of the splendourof fire, dwell alone in such a solitary region?’ Arjuna said, ‘Dependingon the Gandiva and arrows blazing like fire, I live in this great forest,like a second Pavaki. Thou hast seen how this monster–this terribleRakshasa–that came hither in the form of an animal, hath been slain byme.’ The Kirata replied, ‘This Rakshasa, first struck with the shot frommy bow, was killed and sent to the regions of Yama by me. He was firstaimed at by me. And it is with my shot that he has been deprived of life.Proud of thy strength, it behoveth thee not to impute thy own fault toothers. Thou art thyself in fault, O wretch, and, therefore, shalt notescape from me with life. Stay thou: I will shoot at thee shafts likethunderbolts. Strive thou also and shoot, to the best of thy power, thyarrows at me.’ Hearing these words of the Kirata, Arjuna became angry,and attacked him with arrows. The Kirata, however, with a glad heartreceived all those shafts upon himself, repeatedly saying, ‘Wretch,wretch, shoot thou best arrows capable of piercing into the very vitals.’Thus addressed, Arjuna, began to shower his arrows on him. Both of themthen became angry and, engaging in fierce conflict, began to shoot ateach other showers of arrows, each resembling a snake of virulent poison.And Arjuna rained a perfect shower of arrows on the Kirata, Sankara,however, bore that downpour on him with a cheerful heart. But the wielderof the Pinaka, having borne that shower of arrows for a moment, stoodunwounded, immovable like a hill. Dhananjaya, beholding his arrowy showerbecome futile, wondered exceedingly, repeatedly saying, ‘Excellent!Excellent! Alas, this mountaineer of delicate limbs, dwelling on theheights of the Himavat, beareth, without wavering, the shafts shot fromthe Gandiva! Who is he? Is he Rudra himself, or some other god, or aYaksha, or an Asura? The gods sometimes do descend on the heights of theHimavat. Except the god who wieldeth the Pinaka, there is none rise thatcan bear the impetuosity of the thousands of arrows shot by me from theGandiva. Whether he is a god or a Yaksha, in fact, anybody except Rudra,I shall soon send him, with my shafts, to the regions of Yama.’ Thusthinking, Arjuna, with a cheerful heart, began, O king, to shoot arrowsby hundreds, resembling in splendour the rays of the sun. That downpourof shafts, however, the illustrious Creator of the worlds–the wielder ofthe trident–bore with a glad heart, like a mountain bearing a shower ofrocks. Soon, however, the arrows of Phalguna were exhausted. And noticingthis fact, Arjuna became greatly alarmed. And the son of Pandu then beganto think of the illustrious god Agni who had before, during the burningof the Khandava, given him a couple of inexhaustible quivers. And hebegan to think, ‘Alas, my arrows are all exhausted. What shall I shootnow from my bow? Who is this person that swalloweth my arrows? Slayinghim with the end of my bow, as elephants are killed with lances, I shallsend him to the domains of the mace-bearing Yama.’ The illustrious Arjunathen, taking up his bow and dragging the Kirata with his bow-string,struck him some fierce blows that descended like thunderbolts. When,however, that slayer of hostile heroes–the son of Kunti–commenced theconflict with the end of the bow, the mountaineer snatched from his handsthat celestial bow. And beholding his bow snatched from him, Arjuna tookup his sword, and wishing to end the conflict, rushed at his foe. Andthen the Kuru prince, with the whole might of his arms, struck that sharpweapon upon the head of the Kirata, a weapon that was incapable of beingresisted even by solid rocks. But that first of swords, at touch of theKirata’s crown, broke into pieces. Phalguna then commenced the conflictwith trees and stones. The illustrious god in the form of the huge-bodiedKirata, however, bore that shower of trees and rocks with patience. Themighty son of Pritha then, his mouth smoking with wrath, struck theinvincible god in the form of a Kirata, with hi clenched fists, blowsthat descended like thunderbolts. The god in the Kirata form returnedPhalguna’s blows with fierce blows resembling the thunderbolts of Indra.And in consequence of that conflict of blows between the son of Pandu andthe Kirata, there arose in that place loud and frightful sounds. Thatterrible conflict of blows, resembling the conflict of yore betweenVritra and Vasava, lasted but for a moment. The mighty Jishnu claspingthe Kirata began to press him with his breast, but the Kirata, possessedof great strength pressed the insensible son of Pandu with force. And inconsequence of the pressure of their arms and of their breasts, theirbodies began to emit smoke like charcoal in fire. The great god then,smiting the already smitten son of Pandu, and attacking him in anger withhis full might, deprived him of his senses. Then, O Bharata, Phalguna,thus pressed by the god of the gods, with limbs, besides, bruised andmangled, became incapable of motion and was almost reduced to a ball offlesh. And struck by the illustrious god, he became breathless and,falling down on earth without power of moving, looked like one that wasdead. Soon, however, he regained consciousness, and, rising from hisprostrate position, with body covered with blood, became filled withgrief. Mentally prostrating himself before the gracious god of gods, andmaking a clay image of that deity, he worshipped it, with offerings offloral garlands. Beholding, however, the garland that he had offered tothe clay image of Bhava, decking the crown of the Kirata, that best ofPandu’s sons became filled with joy and regained his ease. And heprostrated himself thereupon at the feet of Bhava, and the god also waspleased with him. And Hara, beholding the wonder of Arjuna and seeingthat his body had been emaciated with ascetic austerities, spake unto himin a voice deep as the roaring of the clouds, saying, ‘O Phalguna, I havebeen pleased with thee for thy act is without a parallel. There is noKshatriya who is equal to thee in courage, and patience. And, O sinlessone, thy strength and prowess are almost equal to mine. O mighty-armedone, I have been pleased with thee. Behold me, O bull of the Bharatarace! O large-eyed one! I will grant thee eyes (to see me in my trueform). Thou wert a Rishi before. Thou wilt vanquish all thy foes, eventhe dwellers of heaven; I will as I have been pleased with thee, grantthee an irresistible weapon. Soon shall thou be able to wield that weaponof mine.”
Vaisampayana continued, “Phalguna then beheld him–Mahadeva–that god ofblazing splendour-that wielder of the Pinaka-that one who had his abodeon the mountains (of Kailasa)–accompanied by Uma. Bending down on hisknee and bowing with his head, that conqueror of hostile cities-the sonof Pritha-worshipped Hara and inclined him to grace. And Arjuna said, ‘OKapardin, O chief of all gods, O destroyer of the eyes of Bhaga, O god ofgods, O Mahadeva, O thou of blue throat, O thou of matted locks, I knowthee as the Cause of all causes. O thou of three eyes, O lord of all!Thou art the refuge of all the gods! This universe hath sprung from thee.Thou art incapable of being vanquished by the three worlds of thecelestials, the Asuras, and men. Thou art Siva in the form of Vishnu, andVishnu in the form of Siva. Thou destroyedest of old the great sacrificeof Daksha. O Hari, O Rudra, I bow to thee. Thou hast an eye on thyforehead. O Sarva, O thou that rainest objects of desire, O bearer of thetrident, O wielder of the Pinaka, O Surya, O thou of pure body, O Creatorof all, I bow to thee. O lord of all created things, I worship thee toobtain thy grace. Thou art the lord of the Ganas, the source of universalblessing, the Cause of the causes of the universe. Thou art beyond theforemost of male beings, thou art the highest, thou art the subtlest, OHara! O illustrious Sankara, it behoveth thee to pardon my fault. It waseven to obtain a sight of thyself that I came to this great mountain,which is dear to thee and which is the excellent abode of ascetics. Thouart worshipped of all worlds. O lord, I worship thee to obtain thy grace.Let not this rashness of mine be regarded as a fault–this combat inwhich I was engaged with thee from ignorance. O Sankara, I seek thyprotection. Pardon me all I have done.”
Vaisampayana continued, “Endued with great might, the god whose sign wasthe bull, taking into his the handsome hands of Arjuna, smilingly repliedunto him, saying, ‘I have pardoned thee. And the illustrious Hara,cheerfully clasping Arjuna with his arms, once more consoling Arjuna saidas follows.”
