Chapter 198

“Sanjaya said, “Beholding Bhimasena overwhelmed by that weapon,Dhananjaya, for baffling its energy, covered him with the Varuna weapon.In consequence of the lightness of Arjuna’s arms, and owing also to thefiery force that shrouded Bhima, none could see that the latter had beencovered with the Varuna weapon. Shrouded with the weapon of Drona’s son,Bhima, his steeds, driver, and car became incapable of being gazed at,like a fire of blazing flame in the midst of another fire. As at theclose of the night, O king, all the luminaries run towards the Asta hill,even so the fiery shafts (of Aswatthaman) all began to proceed towardsBhimasena’s car. Indeed, Bhima himself, his car, steeds, and driver, Osire, thus shrouded by Drona’s son seemed to be in the midst of aconflagration. As the (Yuga) fire consuming the entire universe with itsmobile and immobile creatures when the hour of dissolution comes, at lastenters the mouth of the Creator, even so at the weapon of Drona’s sonbegan to enter the body of Bhimasena. As one cannot perceive a fire if itpenetrates into the sun or the sun if it enters into a fire, even so nonecould perceive that energy which penetrated into Bhima’s body. Beholdingthat weapon thus investing Bhima all around, and seeing Drona’s sonswelling with energy and might, the latter being then without anantagonist, and observing also that all the warriors of the Pandava armyhad laid down their weapons and that all the mighty car-warriors of thathost headed by Yudhishthira had turned away their faces from the foe,those two heroes, viz., Arjuna and Vasudeva, both endued with greatsplendour, quickly alighting from their car, ran towards Bhima. Those twomighty men, diving into that energy born of the might of Aswatthaman’sweapon, had resorted to the power of illusion. The fire of that weaponconsumed them not, in consequence of their having laid aside theirweapons, as also in consequence of the force of the Varuna weapon, andowing also to the energy possessed by themselves. Then Nara and Narayana,for the pacification of Narayana weapon, began forcibly to drag Bhima andall his weapons. Thus dragged by them, Kunti’s son, that mightycar-warrior, began to roar aloud. Thereupon, that terrible and invincibleweapon of Drona’s son began to increase (in might and energy). ThenVasudeva, addressing Bhima, said, ‘How is it, O son of Pandu, that thoughforbidden by us, thou, O son of Kunti, dost not yet abstain from battle?If the Kurus could now be vanquished in battle, then we, as also allthese foremost of men, would certainly have continued to fight. Behold,all the warriors of thy host have alighted from their cars. For thisreason, O son of Kunti, do thou also come down from thy car.’ Having saidthese words, Krishna brought Bhima down from his car. The latter, witheyes red as blood in rage, was sighing like a snake. When, however, hewas dragged down from his car and made to lay aside his weapons, theNarayana weapon, that scorcher of foes, became pacified.’

“Sanjaya continued, ‘When, by this means, the unbearable energy of thatweapon became stilled, all the points of the compass, cardinal andsubsidiary, became clear. Sweet breezes began to blow and birds andanimals all became quiet. The steeds and elephants became cheerful, asalso all the warriors, O ruler of men! Indeed, when the terrible energyof that weapon, O Bharata, became stilled, Bhima. of great intelligence,shone resplendent like the morning sun. The remnant of the Pandava host,beholding the pacification of the Narayana weapon, once more stoodprepared on the field for compassing the destruction of thy sons. When,after that weapon had been baffled, the Pandava host, stood arrayed,Duryodhana, O king, addressing Drona’s son, said, O Aswatthaman, oncemore use that weapon speedily since the Panchalas are once more arrayed,desirous of victory.’ Then addressed by thy son, O sire, Aswatthaman,sighing cheerlessly, replied unto the king in these words, ‘That weapon,O king, cannot be brought back. It cannot be used twice. If brought back,it will without doubt, slay the person calling it back. Vasudeva, hath,by what means thou hast seen, caused it to be baffled. For this, O rulermen, the destruction of the foe hath not been compassed in battle. Defeatand death, however, are the same. Rather, defeat is worse than death. Lo,the enemy, vanquished and compelled to lay down his arms, looks as ifdeprived of life’. Duryodhana then said, ‘O preceptor’s son, if it be so,if this weapon cannot be used twice, let those slayers of their preceptorbe slain with other weapons then, O foremost one of all personsacquainted with weapons! In thee are all celestial as well as in theThree eyed (Siva) of immeasurable energy. If thou wishest it not, evenPurandara in rage cannot escape thee.’

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘After Drona had been slain with the aid of fraud,and the Narayana weapon baffled, what, indeed, did Drona’s son, thusurged by Duryodhana then, do, beholding the Parthas once more arrived forbattle freed from the Narayana weapon, and careering at the head of theirdivisions?’

“Sanjaya said, ‘Remembering the slaughter of his sire, Drona’s son,owning the device of the lion’s tail on his banner, filled with rage andcasting of all fears, rushed against the son of Prishata. Rushing at him,O bull among men, that foremost of warriors, with great impetuosity,pierced the Panchala prince with five and twenty small arrows. ThenDhrishtadyumna, O King, pierced Drona’s son that resembled a blazingfire, with four and sixty shafts. And he pierced Aswatthaman’s driveralso with twenty arrows whetted on stone and equipped with wings of gold,and then his four steeds with four sharp arrows. Repeatedly piercingDrona’s son, and causing the earth to tremble with his leonine roars.Dhrishtadyumna then seemed to be employed in taking the lives ofcreatures in the world in dreadful battle. Making death itself his goal,the mighty son of Prishata, O king, accomplished in weapons and enduedwith sureness of aim, then rushed against Drona’s son alone. Ofimmeasurable soul, that foremost of car-warriors, viz., the prince ofPanchala, poured upon Aswatthaman’s head a shower of arrows. Then Drona’sson, in that battle, covered the angry prince with winged shafts. Andonce more, he pierced the latter with ten shafts, remembering theslaughter of his father. Then cutting off the standard and bow of thePanchala prince with a couple of well-shot shafts, equipped with headslike razors. Drona’s son began to grind his foe with other arrows. Inthat dreadful battle, Aswatthaman made his antagonist steedless anddriverless and carless, and covered his followers also with thick showersof shafts. At this, the Panchala troops, O king, mangled by means ofthose arrowy showers fled away in fear and great affliction. Beholdingthe troops turning away from battle and Dhrishtadyumna exceedinglyafflicted, the grandson of Sini quickly urged his car against that ofDrona’s son. He then afflicted Aswatthaman with eight keen shafts. Andonce more striking that angry warrior with twenty shafts of diversekinds, he pierced Aswatthaman’s driver, and then his four steeds withfour shafts. With. great deliberations and displaying a wonderfullightness of hand, he cut off Aswatthaman’s bow and standard, Satyakithen cut into fragments the gold-decked car of this foe together with itssteeds. And then he deeply pierced Aswatthaman in the chest with thirtyarrows in that battle. Thus afflicted, O king, (by Satyaki), and shroudedwith arrows, the mighty Aswatthaman knew not what to do. When thepreceptor’s son had fallen into that plight, thy son, that car-warrior,accompanied by Kripa and Karna and others began to cover the Satwata herowith arrows. All of them began quickly to pierce Satyaki from every sidewith keen shafts, Duryodhana pierced him with twenty, Saradwat’s son,Kripa, with three. And Kritavarman pierced him with ten, and Karna withfifty. And Duhsasana pierced him with a hundred arrows, and Vrishasenawith seven. Satyaki, however, O king, soon made all those greatcar-warriors fly away from the field, deprived of their cars. Meanwhile,Aswatthaman, O bull of Bharata’s race, recovering consciousness, andsighing repeatedly in sorrow, began to think of what he should do. Ridingthen upon another car, that scorcher of foes, viz., the son of Drona,began to resist Satyaki, shooting hundreds of arrows. BeholdingAswatthaman once more approaching him in battle, the mighty car-warrior,Satyaki, once more made him careless and caused him to turn back. Thenthe Pandavas, O king, beholding the prowess of Satyaki, blew their conchswith great force and uttered loud leonine roars. Having deprivedAswatthaman of his car thus, Satyaki, of unbaffled prowess, then slewthree thousand mighty car-warriors of Vrishasena’s division. And then heslew fifteen thousand elephants of Kripa’s force and fifty thousandhorses of Sakuni. Then, the valiant son of Drona, O monarch, riding uponanother car, and highly enraged with Satyaki, proceeded against thelatter, desirous of slaying him. Beholding him approach again, thegrandson of Sini, that chastiser of foes, once more pierced and mangledhim with keen shafts, fiercer than those he had used before. Deeplypierced with those arrows of diverse forms by Yuyudhana, that greatbowmen, viz., the angry son of Drona, smilingly addressed his foe andsaid, ‘O grandson of Sini, I know thy partiality for Dhrishtadyumna, thatslayer of his preceptor, but thou shalt not be able to rescue him or yourown self when attacked by me. I swear to thee, O grandson of Sini, bytruth and by my ascetic austerities, that I shall know no peace till Islay all the Panchalas. You may unite the forces of the Pandavas andthose of the Vrishnis together, but I shall still slay the Somakas.Saying this, the son of Drona shot at Satyaki an excellent and straightarrow possessed of the effulgence of the sun, even as Sakra had hurled indays of yore his thunder at the Asura Vritra. Thus shot by Aswatthaman,that arrow, piercing through the armour of Satyaki, and passing throughhis body, entered the earth like a hissing snake entering its hole. Hisarmour pierced through, the heroic Satyaki, like an elephant deeplystruck with the hook, became bathed in blood that flowed from his wound.His bow, with arrow fixed thereon, being then loosened from his grasp, hesat down on the terrace of his car strengthless and covered all over withblood. Seeing this his driver speedily bore him away from Drona’s son.With another shaft, perfectly straight and equipped with goodly wingsthat scorcher of foes, viz., Aswatthaman, struck Dhrishtadyumna betweenhis eyebrows. The Panchala prince had before this been much pierced;therefore, deeply wounded by that arrow, he became exceedingly weak andsupported himself by seizing his flag-staff. Beholding Dhrishtadyumnathus afflicted by Aswatthaman, like an infuriated elephant by a lion,five heroic car-warriors of the Pandava army, viz., Kiritin, Bhimasena,Vrihatkshatra of Puru’s race, the youthful prince of the Chedis, andSudarsana, the chief of the Malavas, quickly rushed against Aswatthaman.Armed with bows, all these rushed with cries Oh and Alas. And thoseheroes quickly encompassed the son of Drona on all sides. Advancingtwenty paces, all of them, with great care, simultaneously struck theangry son of the preceptor with five and twenty arrows. Drona’s son,however, with five and twenty shafts, resembling snakes of virulentpoison, cut off, almost at the same time, those five and twenty arrowsshot at him. Then Aswatthaman afflicted the Paurava prince with sevensharp shafts. And he afflicted the chief of the Malavas with three,Partha with one, and Vrikodara with six shafts. Then all those greatcar-warriors, O king, pierced Drona’s son unitedly and separately withmany shafts, whetted on stone equipped with wings of gold. The youthfulprince of the Chedis pierced Drona’s son with twenty and Partha piercedhim with three. Then Drona’s son struck Arjuna with six arrows, andVasudeva with six, and Bhima with five, and each of the other two viz.,the Malava and the Paurava, with two arrows. Piercing next the driver of’Bhima’s car with six arrows, Aswatthaman cut off Bhimasena’s bow andstandard with a couple of arrows. Then piercing Partha once more with ashower of arrows, Drona’s son uttered a leonine roar. With the sharp,well-tempered, and terrible arrows shot by Drona’s son, the earth, thesky, the firmament, and the points of the compass, cardinal andsubsidiary, all became entirely shrouded both in his front and rear.Endued with fierce energy and equal to Indra himself in prowess,Aswatthaman with three arrows, almost simultaneously cut off the twoarms, like unto Indra’s poles, and the head of Sudarsana, as the latterwas seated on his car. Then piercing Paurava with a dart and cutting offhis car into minute fragments by means of his arrows, Aswatthaman loppedoff his antagonist’s two arms smeared with sandal-paste and then his headfrom off his trunk with a broad-headed shaft. Possessed of greatactivity, he then pierced with many arrows resembling blazing flames offire in energy, the youthful and mighty prince of the Chedis who was ofthe hue of the dark lotus, and despatched him to Yama’s abode with hisdriver and steeds. Beholding the chief of the Malavas, the descendant ofPuru, and the youthful ruler of the Chedis slain in this very sight bythe son of Drona.. Bhimasena, the mighty-armed son of Pandu, becamefilled with rage. The scorcher of foes then covered Drona’s son in thatbattle with hundreds of keen arrows resembling angry snakes of virulentpoison. Endued with mighty energy, the angry son of Drona then destroyingthat arrowy shower, pierced Bhimasena with sharp shafts. The mighty-armedBhima then, possessed of great strength, cut off with a broad-headedarrow the bow of Drona’s son and then pierced Drona’s son himself with apowerful shaft. Throwing away that broken bow, the high-souled son ofDrona took up another and pierced Bhima with his winged shafts. Thenthose two, viz., Drona’s son and Bhima, both possessed of great prowessand might, began to shower their arrowy downpours like two masses ofrain-charged clouds. Gold-winged arrows, whetted on stone and engravedwith Bhima’s name shrouded Drona’s son, like gathering masses of cloudsshrouding the sun. Similarly, Bhima was soon shrouded with hundreds andthousands of strong arrows shot by Drona’s son. Though shrouded in thatbattle by Drona’s son, that warrior of great skill, Bhima yet felt nopain, O monarch, which seemed exceedingly wonderful. Then themighty-armed Bhima sped ten gold-decked arrows, of great keenness andresembling the darts of Yama himself, at his foe. Those shafts, O sire,failing upon the shoulders of Drona’s son, quickly pierced his body, likesnakes penetrating into an ant-hill. Deeply pierced by the high-souledson of Pandu, Aswatthaman, closing his eyes, supported himself by seizinghis flagstaff. Recovering his senses within a moment, O king, Drona’s sonbathed in blood, mustered all his wrath. Forcibly struck by thehigh-souled son of Pandu, Aswatthaman, endued with mighty arms, rushedwith great speed towards the car of Bhimasena. And then, O Bharata, hesped at Bhimasena, from his bow drawn to its fullest stretch, a hundredarrows of fierce energy, all looking like snakes of virulent poison.Pandu’s son Bhima also, proud of his prowess in battle, disregardingAswatthaman’s energy, speedily showered upon him dense arrowy downpour.Then Drona’s son, O king, cutting off Bhima’s bow by means of his arrows,and filled with rage, struck the Pandava in the chest with many keenshafts. Incapable of brooking that feat, Bhimasena took up another bowand pierced Drona’s son in that battle with five keen shafts. Indeed,showering upon each other their arrowy downpours like two masses ofclouds at the close of summer, two warriors, with eyes red as copper inrage, completely covered each other in that battle with their shafts.Frightening each other with the terrible sounds they made by their palms,they continued to fight with each other, each counteracting the feats ofthe other. Then bending his formidable bow adorned with gold, Drona’s sonbegan to gaze steadfastly at Bhima who was thus shooting his shafts athim. At that time, Aswatthaman looked like the meridian sun of blazingrays in an autumnal day. So quickly then did he shoot his shafts thatpeople could not see when he took them out of his quiver when he fixedthem on the bowstring when he drew the string, and when he let them off.Indeed, when employed in shooting his arrows, his bow, O monarch, seemedto be incessantly drawn to fiery circle. Shafts in a hundred thousands,shot from his bow, seemed to course through the welkin like a flight oflocusts. Indeed, those terrible shafts adorned with gold, shot from thebow of Drona’s son, coursed incessantly towards Bhima’s car. The prowess,O Bharata, that we then beheld of Bhimasena, and his might, energy, andspirit, were exceedingly wonderful, for, regarding that terrible showerof arrows thick as a gathering mass of clouds, failing around him to benothing more than a downpour of rain at the close of summer. Bhima ofterrible prowess, desirous of slaying the son of Drona, in return pouredhis arrows upon the latter like a cloud in the season of rains. Bhima’slarge and formidable bow of golden back, incessantly drawn in thatbattle, looked resplendent like a second bow of Indra. Shafts in hundredsand thousands, issuing from it, shrouded Drona’s son, that ornament ofbattle in that encounter. The showers of shafts, shot by both of themwere so dense, O sire, that the very wind, O king, could not find roomfor coursing through them. Then Drona’s son, O king, desirous of slayingBhima, sped at him many gold-decked arrows of keen points steeped in oil.Showing his superiority to Drona’s son Bhimasena cut off each of thosearrows into three fragments before they could come at him. The son ofPandu then said, ‘Wait Wait.’ And once more, the mighty son of Pandufilled with rage, and desirous of slaying the son of Drona, shot at him aterrible shower of fierce arrows. Then Drona’s son that warrioracquainted with the highest weapons, quickly destroying that arrowyshower by the illusion of his own weapons, cut off Bhima’s bow in thatencounter. Filled with rage, he then pierced Bhima himself withinnumerable shafts in that battle. Endued with great might, Bhima then,after his bow had been cut off, hurled a dart at Aswatthaman’s car,having whirled it previously with great impetuosity. The son of Drona,displaying the lightness of his hand in that encounter, quickly cut off,by means of sharp shafts, that dart as it coursed towards him with thesplendour of a blazing brand. Meanwhile, terrible Vrikodara, taking up avery strong bow, and smiling the while, began to pierce the son of Dronawith many arrows. Then Drona’s son, O monarch, with a straight shaft,pierced the forehead of Bhima’s driver. The latter, deeply pierced by themighty son of Drona, fell into a swoon, O king, abandoning the reins ofthe steeds. The driver of the Bhima’s car having fallen into a swoon, thesteeds, O king, began to fly away with great speed, in the very sight ofall the bowmen. Beholding Bhima carried away from the field of battle bythose running steeds, the unvanquished Aswatthaman joyfully blew his hugeconch. Beholding Bhimasena borne away from the field, all the Panchalas,inspired with fear, abandoning the car of Dhrishtadyumna, fled away onevery side. Then Drona’s son, shooting his shafts fiercely, pursued thosebroken troops, causing a great carnage among them. Thus slaughtered inbattle by the son of Drona, those Kshatriyas fled away in all directionsfrom fear of that warrior.

“Sanjaya said, ‘Beholding that force broken, Kunti’s son, Dhananjaya, ofimmeasurable soul, proceeded against Aswatthaman from desire of slayinghim. Those troops then, O king, rallied with effort by Govinda andArjuna, stayed on the field of battle. Only Vibhatsu, supported by theSomakas and the Matsyas, shot his arrows at the Kauravas and checkedtheir onset.[268] Quickly approaching Aswatthaman, that great bowmanhaving the mark of the lion’s tail on his banner, Arjuna addressed him,saying, ‘Show me now the might thou hast, the energy, the knowledge, andthe manliness, that are in thee, as also thy affection for theDhartarashtras and thy hatred for us, and the high mettle of which thouart capable. Even Prishata’s son, that slayer of Drona, will quell thypride today. Come now and encounter the Panchala prince, that heroresembling the Yuga fire and like the Destroyer himself with Govinda.Thou hast displayed thy pride in battle, but I shall quell that pride ofthine.’

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘The preceptor’s son, O Sanjaya, is possessed ofmight and worthy of respect. He beareth great love to Dhananjaya and thehigh-souled Dhananjaya also loveth him in return. Vibhatsu had neveraddressed Drona’s son before in this way. Why then did the son of Kuntiaddress his friend in such words?’

“Sanjaya said, ‘Upon the fall of the youthful prince of the Chedis, ofVrihatkshatra of Puru’s race, and of Sudarsana, the chief of the Malavas,who was well-accomplished in the science of arms, and upon the defeat ofDhrishtadyumna and Satyaki and Bhima, and feeling great pain and touchedto the quick by those words of Yudhishthira, and remembering a his formerwoes, O lord, Vibhatsu, in consequence of his grief, felt such wrath risewithin him the like of which he had never experienced before. It was forthis that like a vulgar person, he addressed the preceptor’s son who wasworthy of every respect, in such unworthy, indecent, bitter, and harshlanguage. Addressed, from wrath, in such harsh and cruel words by Partha,O king, Drona’s son, that foremost of all mighty bowmen, became highlyangry with Partha and especially with Krishna. The valiant Aswatthaman,then, staying resolutely on his car, touched water and invoked the Agneyaweapon incapable of being resisted by the very gods. Aiming at all hisvisible and invisible foes, the preceptor’s son, that slayer of hostileheroes, inspired with mantras a blazing shaft possessed of the effulgenceof a smokeless fire, and let it off on all sides, filled with rage. Denseshowers of arrows then issued from it in the welkin. Endued with fieryflames, those arrows encompassed Partha on all sides. Meteors flasheddown from the firmament. A thick gloom suddenly shrouded the (Pandava)host. All the points of the compass also were enveloped by that darkness.Rakshasas and Pisachas, crowding together, uttered fierce cries.Inauspicious winds began to blow. The sun himself no longer gave anyheat. Ravens fiercely croaked on all sides. Clouds roared in the welkin,showering blood. Birds and beasts and kine, and Munis of high vows andsouls under complete control, became exceedingly uneasy. The veryelements seemed to be perturbed. The sun seemed to turn. The universe,scorched with heat, seemed to be in a fever. The elephants and othercreatures of the land, scorched by the energy of that weapon, ran infright, breathing heavily and desirous of protection against thatterrible force. The very waters heated, the creatures residing in thatelement, O Bharata, became exceedingly uneasy and seemed to burn. Fromall the points of the compass, cardinal and subsidiary, from thefirmament and the very earth, showers of sharp and fierce arrows fell andissued with the impetuosity of Garuda or the wind. Struck and burnt bythose shafts of Aswatthaman that were all endued with the impetuosity ofthe thunder, the hostile warriors fell down like trees burnt down by araging fire. Huge elephants, burnt by that weapon, fell down on the earthall around, uttering fierce cries loud as the rumblings of the clouds.Other huge elephants, scorched by that fire, ran hither and thither, androared aloud in fear, as if in the midst of a forest conflagration. Thesteeds, O king, and the cars also, burnt by the energy of that weapon,looked, O sire, like the tops of trees burnt in a forest-fire. Thousandsof cars fell down on all sides. Indeed, O Bharata, it seemed that thedivine lord Agni burnt the (Pandava) host in that battle, like theSamvarta fire consuming everything at the end of the Yuga.

‘Beholding the Pandava army thus burning in that dreadful battle, thysoldiers, O king, filled with joy, uttered leonine shouts. Indeed, thecombatants, desirous of victory and filled with joy, speedily blewthousands of trumpets, O Bharata, of diverse kinds. Darkness havingenveloped the world during that fierce battle, the entire Pandava army,with Savyasachin, the son of Panda, could not be seen. We had neverbefore, O king, heard of or seen the like of that weapon which Drona’sson created in wrath on that occasion. Then Arjuna, O king, invoked intoexistence the Brahma weapon, capable of baffling every other weapon, asordained by the Lotus-born (Brahma) himself. Within a moment thatdarkness was dispelled, cool winds began to blow, and all the points ofthe compass became clear and bright. We then beheld a wonderful sight,viz., a full Akshauhini (of the Pandava troops) laid low. Burnt by theenergy of Aswatthaman’s weapon, the forms of the slain could not bedistinguished. Then those two heroic and mighty bowmen, viz., Kesava andArjuna, freed from that darkness, were seen together, like the sun andthe moon in the firmament. Indeed, the wielder of Gandiva and Kesava wereboth unwounded. Equipped with its banners and standards and steeds, withthe Anukarsa unjoined; and with all the mighty weapons stored on itremaining uninjured, that car, so terrible to thy warriors, freed fromthat darkness, shone resplendent on the field. And soon there arosediverse sounds of life mingled with the blare of conchs and the beat ofdrums, from among the Pandava troops filled with joy. Both hosts thoughtthat Kesava and Arjuna had perished Beholding Kesava and Arjuna,therefore (freed from darkness and the energy of that weapon) and seeingthat reappear so quickly, the Pandavas were filled with joy, and theKauravas with wonder. Unwounded and full of cheerfulness, those twoheroes blew their excellent conchs. Indeed, seeing Partha filled withjoy, thy soldiers became exceedingly melancholy. Seeing those twohigh-souled ones (viz., Kesava and Arjuna), freed (from the energy of hisweapon) the son of Drona became very cheerless. For a moment hereflected, O sire, on what had happened. And having reflected, O king, hebecame filled with anxiety and grief. Breathing long and hot sighs, hebecame exceedingly cheerless. Laying aside his bow, then, the son ofDrona speedily alighted from his car, and saying, ‘O fie, fie! Everything is untrue,’ he ran away from the fight. On his way he met Vyasa,the abode of Saraswati, the compiler of the Vedas, the habitation ofthose scriptures, unstained by sin, and of the hue of rain-charged cloud.Beholding him, that perpetuator of Kura’s race, standing on his way, theson of Drona with voice choked in grief, and like one exceedinglycheerless, saluted him and said, ‘O sire, O sire, is this an illusion, oris it a caprice (on the part of the weapon)? I do not know what it is.Why, indeed, hath my weapon become fruitless? What breach (has there beenin the method of invocation)? Or, is it something abnormal, or, is it avictory over Nature (achieved by the two Krishnas) since they are yetalive? It seems that Time is irresistible. Neither Asuras, norGandharvas, nor Pisachas, nor Rakshasas, nor Uragas, Yakshas, and birds,nor human beings, can venture to baffle this weapon shot by me. Thisfiery weapon, however, having slain only one Akshauhini of troops, hathbeen pacified. This exceedingly fierce weapon shot by me is capable ofslaying all creatures. For what reason then could it not slay Kesava andArjuna, both of whom are endued with the attributes of humanity? Asked byme, O holy one, answer me truly. O great Muni, I desire to hear all thisin detail.’

“Vyasa said, ‘O highly significant is this matter that thou enquirest ofme from surprise. I will tell thee everything; listen attentively. Hethat is called Narayana is older than the oldest ones. For accomplishingsome purpose, that creator of the universe took his birth as the son ofDharma. On the mountain of Himavat he underwent the severest asceticausterities. Endued with mighty energy, and resembling fire or the sun(in splendour), he stood there with arms upraised. Possessed of eyeslike: lotus-petals, he emaciated himself there for sixty-six thousandyears, subsisting all the while upon air alone. Once more undergoingsevere austerities of another kind for twice that period, he filled thespace between earth and heaven with his energy. When by thoseausterities, O sire, he became: like Brahma[269] he then beheld theMaster, Origin, and Guardian of the Universe, the Lord of all the gods,the Supreme Deity, who is exceedingly difficult of being gazed at, who isminuter than the minutest and larger than, the largest, who is calledRudra,[270] who is the lord of all the superior ones, who is called Haraand Sambhu, who has matted locks on his head, who is the infuser of lifeinto every form, who is the First cause of all immobile: and mobilethings, who is irresistible and of frightful aspect, who is of fiercewrath and great Soul, who is the All-destroyer, and of large heart; whobeareth the celestial bow and a couple of quivers, who is cased in goldenarmour, and whose energy is infinite, who holdeth Pinaka, who is; armedwith thunderbolt, a blazing trident, battle axe, mace, and a large sword;whose eye-brows are fair, whose locks are matted, who wieldeth the heavyshort club, who hath the moon on his forehead, who is clad in tiger-skin,and who is armed with the bludgeon; who is decked with beautiful angadas,who hath snakes for his sacred thread, and who is surrounded by diversecreatures of the universe and by numerous ghosts and spirits, who is theOne, who is the abode of ascetic austerities, and who is highly adored bypersons of venerable age; who is Water, Heaven, Sky, Earth, Sun, Moon,Wind and Fire, and who is the measure of the duration of the universe.Persons of wicked behaviour can never obtain a sight of that unborn one,that slayer of all haters of Brahmanas, that giver of emancipation.[271]Only Brahmanas of righteous conduct, when cleansed of their sins andfreed from the control of grief, behold him with their mind’s eye. Inconsequence of his ascetic austerities, Narayana obtained a sight of thatunfading one, that embodiment of righteousness, that adorable one, thatBeing having the universe for his form. Beholding that supreme Abode ofall kinds of splendour, that God with a garland of Akshas round his neck,Vasudeva, with gratified soul, became filled with delight which he soughtto express by words, heart, understanding, and body. Then Narayanaworshipped that Divine Lord, that First cause of the universe, that giverof boons, that puissant one sporting with the fair-limbed Parvati, thathigh-souled Being surrounded by large bands of ghosts, spirits, thatUnborn one, that Supreme Lord, that Embodiment of the unmanifest, thatEssence of all causes, that One of unfading power. Having saluted Rudra,that destroyer of the Asura Andhaka, the lotus eyed Narayana, withemotion filling his heart, began to praise the Three-eyed one (in thesewords), ‘O adorable one, O first of all the gods, the creator ofeverything (viz., the Prajapatis) who are the regents of the world, andwho having entered the earth,–thy first work,–had, O lord, protected itbefore, have all sprung from thee. Gods, Asuras, Nagas, Rakshasas,Pisachas, human beings, birds, Gandharvas, Yakshas and other creatures:with the entire universe, we know, have all sprung from thee. Everythingthat is done for propitiating Indra, and Yama, and Varuna, and Kuvera andPitris and Tvashtri, and Soma, is really offered to thee. Form and light,sound and sky, wind and touch, taste and water, scent and earth,[272]time, Brahma himself, the Vedas, the Brahmanas and all these mobileobjects, have sprung from thee. Vapours rising from diverse receptaclesof water, becoming rain-drops, which failing upon the earth, areseparated from one another. When the time of the Universal dissolutioncomes those individual drops, separated from one another, once more unitetogether and make the earth one vast expanse of water. He that islearned, thus observing the origin and the destruction, of all things,understands thy oneness. Two birds (viz., Iswara and Jiva), fourAswatthas with their wordy branches (viz., the Vedas), the sevenguardians (viz., the five essences or elements and the heart and theunderstanding), and the ten others that hold this city (viz., the tensenses that constitute the body), have all been created by thee, but thouart separate from and independent of them. The Past, the Future, and thePresent, over each of which none can have any sway, are from thee, asalso the seven worlds and this universe. I am thy devoted adorer,–begraceful unto me. Do not injure me, by causing evil thoughts to penetratemy heart. Thou art the Soul of souls, incapable of being known. He thatknows thee as the Universal Seed, attaineth to Brahma. Desiring to paythee respects, I am praising thee, endeavouring to ascertain thy realnature, O thou that art incapable of being understood by the very gods.Adored by me, grant me the boons I desire but which are difficult ofacquisition. Do not hide thyself in thy illusion.’

“Vyasa continued, ‘The blue-throated God, of inconceivable soul, thatwielder of Pinaka, that divine Lord ever praised by the Rishis, then gaveboons unto Vasudeva who deserved them all. The great God said, ‘ONarayana, through my grace, amongst men, gods, and Gandharvas, thou shaltbe of immeasurable might and soul. Neither gods, nor Asuras, nor greatUragas, nor Pisachas, nor Gandharvas, nor men, nor Rakshasas, nor birds,nor Nagas, nor any creatures in the Universe, shall ever be able to bearthy prowess. No one amongst even the celestials shall be able to vanquishthee in battle. Through my grace, none shall ever be able to cause theepain by the weapon of thunderbolt or with any object that is wet or dry,or with any mobile or immobile thing. Thou shalt be superior to myself ifthou ever goest to battle against me.’ Thus were these boons acquired bySauri in days of yore. Even that God now walketh the earth (as Vasudeva),beguiling the universe by his illusion. From Narayana’s asceticism wasborn a great Muni of the name of Nara, equal to Narayana himself. Knowthat Arjuna is none else than that Nara. Those two Rishis, said to beolder than the oldest gods, take their births in every Yuga for servingthe purposes of the world. Thyself also, O thou of great heart, hast beenborn as a portion of Rudra, by virtue of all thy religious acts and as aconsequence of high ascetic austerities, endued with great energy andwrath. Thou wert (in a former life) endued with great wisdom and equal toa god. Regarding the universe to consist only of Mahadeva, thou hadstemaciated thyself by diverse vows from desire of gratifying that God.Assuming the form of a very superior person, that blazes fourth withsplendour, thou hast, O giver of honours, worshipped the great god withmantras, with homa, and with offerings. Thus adored by thee in thy formerlife, the great god became gratified with thee, and granted thee numerousboons, O learned one, that thou hadst cherished in thy heart. LikeKesava’s and Arjuna’s thy birth acts, and ascetic austerities are alsosuperior. Like them, in thy worship, thou hast, in every Yuga, adored thegreat God in his Phallic form. Kesava is that devoted worshipper of Rudrawho has sprung from Rudra himself. Kesava always worship the Lord Siva,regarding his Phallic emblem to be the origin of the universe. In Kesavais always present that knowledge, in consequence of which he views theidentity of Brahman with the: universe and that other knowledge by whichthe Past, the Present and the Future, the near and the remote, are allseen, as if the whole are before his eyes. The gods, the Siddhas and thegreat Rishis, adore Kesava for obtaining that highest object in theuniverse, viz., Mahadeva. Kesava is the creator of everything. TheEternal Krishna should be adored with sacrifices. The Lord Kesava alwaysworshippeth Siva in the Phallic emblem as the origin of all creatures.The God having the bull for his mark cherisheth greater regard forKesava.’

“Sanjaya continued, ‘Hearing these words of Vyasa, Drona’s son, thatmighty car-warrior, bowed unto Rudra and regarded Kesava as worthy of thehighest regards. Having his soul under complete control, he became filledwith delight, the marks whereof appeared on his body. Bowing unto thegreat Rishi, Aswatthaman then, casting his eyes on the (Kuru) army,caused it-to be withdrawn (for nightly rest). Indeed, when, after thefall of Drona, the cheerless Kurus retired from the field, the Pandavasalso, O monarch, caused their army to be withdrawn. Having fought forfive days and caused an immense carnage, that Brahman well-versed in theVedas, viz., Drona, repaired, O king, to the region of Brahma!’.”