Chapter 34

“‘Duryodhana said, “After the fears of those throngs of the pitris, thegods, and the Rishis had thus been dispelled by that high-souled Deity,Brahman then offered his adorations, unto Sankara, and said these wordsfor the benefit of the universe, ‘Through thy favour, O Lord of all, theLordship of all creatures is mine. Occupying that rank, I have given agreat boon to the Danavas. It behoveth none else, save thee, O Lord ofthe Past and the Future, to destroy those wicked wights that show noregard for any one. Thou O god, art the only person competent to slay thefoes of these denizens of heaven that have sought thy protection and thatsolicit thee. O lord of all the gods, show favour to these. Slay theDanavas, O wielder of the trident. O giver of honours, let the universe,through thy grace, obtain happiness. O Lord of all the worlds, thou artthe one whose shelter should be sought. We all seek thy shelter.’

“‘”Sthanu said, ‘All your foes should be slain. But, I shall not however,slay them single-handed. The enemies of the gods are possessed of might.Therefore, all of you, united together, consume those enemies of yours inbattle, with half my might. Union is great strength.’

“‘”The gods said, ‘Theirs (Danavas’) is twice the energy and might ofourselves, we think, for we have already seen their energy and might.’

“‘”The holy one said, ‘Those sinful wights that have offended against yeshould be slain. With half of my energy and might, slay all those enemiesof yours.’

“‘”The gods said, ‘We will not be able, O Maheswara, to bear half of thyenergy. With, on the other hand, half of our united might, do thou slaythose foes.’

“‘”The holy one said, ‘If, indeed, ye have not the ability to bear halfof my might, then, endued with half of your united energy, I will slaythem.’

“‘Duryodhana continued, “The celestials then, addressing the god of gods,said ‘So be it’ O best of kings. Taking half of their energies from allof them, he became superior in might. Indeed, in might that god becamesuperior to all in the universe. From that time Sankara came to be calledMahadeva. And Mahadeva then said, ‘Armed with bow and shaft, I will, frommy car, slay in battle those foes of yours, ye denizens of heaven.Therefore, ye gods, see now to my car and bow and shaft so that I may,this very day, throw the Asuras down on the Earth.’

“‘”The gods said, ‘Gathering all forms that may be found in the threeworlds and taking portions of each, we will each, O Lord of the gods,construct a car of great energy for thee. It will be a large car, thehandiwork of Viswakarman, designed with intelligence.’ Saying this, thosetigers among the gods began the construction of that car. And they madeVishnu and Soma and Hutasana the arrow for Sankara’s use. Agni became thestaff, and Soma became the head, and Vishnu the point, O king, of thatforemost of arrows. The goddess Earth, with her large cities and towns,her mountains and forests and islands, that home of diverse creatures,was made the car. The Mandara mountain was made its axle; and the greatriver Ganga was made its Jangha; and the points of the compass, cardinaland subsidiary became the ornaments of the car. The constellations becameits shaft; the Krita age became its yoke; and that best of Snakes, viz.,Vasuki, became the Kuvara of that car. Himavat and Vindhya mountainsbecame its Apaskara and Adhishthana; and the Udaya and the Asta mountainswere made the wheels of that car by those foremost ones among the gods.They made the excellent Ocean, that abode of the Danavas its other axle.The seven Rishis became the protectors of the wheels of that car. Gangaand Sarasvati and Sindhu and the Sky became its Dhura; all the otherrivers and all the waters became the chords for binding the several limbsof that car. Day and Night and the other divisions of time such as Kalasand Kasthas, and the Seasons became its Amukarsha. The blazing planetsand the stars became its wooden fence; Religion, Profit, and Pleasure,united together, became its Trivenu. The herbs and the creepers, deckedwith flowers and fruits, became its bells. Making the Sun and the Moonequal, these were made the (other two) wheels of that foremost of cars.Day and Night were made its auspicious wings on the right and left. Theten foremost of snakes having Dhritarashtra for their first, allexceedingly strong, formed the (other) shaft of that car. The Sky wasmade its (other) yoke, and the clouds called Samvartaka and Valahaka werethe leathern strings of the yoke. The two Twilights and Dhritri and Medhaand Sthiti and Sannati, and the firmament bespangled with planets andstars, were made the skins for covering that car. Those Regents of theworld, viz., the Lords of the gods, of the waters, of the dead, and oftreasures, were made the steeds of that car. Kalaprishtha, and Nahusha,and Karkotaka, and Dhananjaya and the other snakes became the chords forbinding the manes of the steeds. The cardinal and the subsidiarydirections became the reins of the steeds of that car. The Vedic soundVashat became the goad, and Gayatri became the string attached to thatgoad. The four auspicious days were made the traces of the steeds, andthe pitris presiding over them were made the hooks and pins. Action andtruth and ascetic penances and profit were made the chords of that car.The Mind became the ground upon which that car stood, and Speech thetracks upon which it was to proceed. Beautiful banners of various hueswaved in the air. With lightning and Indra’s bow attached to it, thatblazing car gave fierce light. That space of time which, on a formeroccasion, had, in the Sacrifice of the high-souled Ishana, been fixed asa Year, became the bow, and the goddess Savitri became the loud-soundingbow-string. A celestial coat of mail was made, decked with costly gems,and impenetrable and effulgent, sprung from the wheel of Time. Thatgolden mountain, viz., the beautiful Meru, became the flagstaff, and theclouds decked with flashes of lightning became its banners. Thusequipped, that car shone brilliantly like a blazing fire in the midst ofthe priests officiating at a sacrifice. Beholding that car properlyequipped, the gods became filled with wonder. Seeing the energies of theentire universe united together in one place, O sire, the gods wondered,and at last represented unto that illustrious Deity that the car wasready. After, O monarch, that best of cars had thus been constructed bythe gods, O tiger among men, for grinding their foes, Sankara placed uponit his own celestial weapons. Making the sky its flagstaff, he placedupon it his bovine bull. The Brahmana’s rod, the rod of Death, Rudra’srod, and Fever became the protectors of the sides of that car and stoodwith faces turned towards all sides. Atharvan and Angirasa became theprotectors of the car-wheels of that illustrious warrior. The Rigveda,the Samaveda, and the Puranas stood in advance of that car. The historiesand the Yajurveda became the protectors of the rear. All sacred Speechesand all the Sciences stood around it, and all hymns, O monarch, and theVedic sound of Vashat also. And the syllable Om, O king, standing in thevan of that car, made it exceedingly beautiful. Having made the Yearadorned with the six seasons his bow, he made his own shadow theirrefragable string of that bow in that battle. The illustrious Rudra isDeath’s self. The Year became his bow; Kala Ratri the Death-nighttherefore, which is Rudra’s shadow, became the indestructible string ofthat bow. Vishnu and Agni and Soma became (as already said) the arrow.The universe is said to consist of Agni and Soma. The universe issimilarly said to consist of Vishnu. Vishnu is, again, the Soul of theholy Bhava of immeasurable energy. For this the touch of that bow-stringbecame unbearable to the Asuras. And the lord Sankara cast on that arrowhis own irresistible and fierce wrath, the unbearable fire of anger,viz., that which was born of wrath of Bhrigu and Angirasa. Then He calledNila Rohita (Blue and Red or smoke)–that terrible deity robed inskins,–looking like 10,000 Suns, and shrouded by the fire ofsuperabundant Energy, blazed up with splendour. That discomfiter of evenhim that is difficult of being discomfited, that victor, that slayer ofall haters of Brahma, called also Hara, that rescuer of the righteous anddestroyer of the unrighteous, viz., the illustrious Sthanu, accompaniedby many beings of terrible might and terrible forms that were endued withthe speed of the mind and capable of agitating and crushing all foes, asif with all the fourteen faculties of the soul awake about him, lookedexceedingly resplendent. Having his limbs for their refuge, this entireuniverse of mobile and immobile creatures that were present there, Oking, looked beautiful, presenting a highly wonderful appearance.Beholding that car, duly equipped, he cased himself in mail and armedhimself with the bow, and took up that celestial shaft born of Soma andVishnu and Agni. The gods, O king, then commanded that foremost ofcelestials, viz., Wind, to breathe after that puissant Deity all thefragrance that he carries. Then Mahadeva, terrifying the very gods, andmaking the very Earth tremble, ascended that car resolutely. Then thegreat Rishis, the Gandharvas, those throngs of gods and those diversetribes of Apsaras began to praise that Lord of the gods while he wasabout to ascend that car. Adored by the regenerate Rishis, and praised bythe eulogists and diverse tribes of dancing Apsaras well-versed in theart of dancing, that boon-giving lord, armed with scimitar and arrow andbow, looked very beautiful. Smiling, he then asked the gods, ‘Who willbecome my driver?’ The gods answered him, saying, ‘He whom thou wiltappoint, will, O Lord of the gods, without doubt, become thy driver!’Unto them the god replied, ‘Reflecting yourselves, without delay make himmy driver who is superior to me!’ Hearing these words uttered by thathigh-souled Deity, the gods repaired unto the Grandsire and inclining himto grace, said these words, ‘We have accomplished everything, O holy one,that thou hadst ordered us to do in the matter of afflicting the foes ofcelestials. The Deity having the bull for his mark has been gratifiedwith us. A car hath been constructed by us, equipped with many wonderfulweapons. We do not, however, know who is to become the driver of thatforemost of cars. Therefore, let some foremost one among the gods beappointed as the driver. O holy one, it behoveth thee to make true thosewords that thou, O lord, hadst then said to us. Before this, O god, thouhadst even said to us that thou wouldst do us good. It behoveth thee toaccomplish that promise. That irresistible and best of cars, that routerof our foes, hath been constructed out of the component parts of thecelestials. The Deity armed with Pinaka hath been made the warrior who isto stand on it. Striking the Danavas with fear, he is prepared forbattle. The four Vedas have become the four foremost of steeds. With hermountains, the Earth has become the car of that high-souled one. Thestars have become the adornments of that vehicle. (As already said) Harais the warrior. We do not, however, see who is to become the driver. Adriver should be sought for that car who is superior to all these. Equalto thee in importance is that car, O god, and Hara is the warrior.Armour, and weapons, and bow, these we have got already, O Grandsire.Except thee, we do not behold any person that can make its driver. Thouart endued with every accomplishment. Thou, O lord, art superior to allthe gods. Mounting upon that car with speed, hold the reins of thoseforemost of steeds, for the victory of the celestials and the destructionof their foes.’ It has been heard by us that bowing with their heads untothe Grandsire that Lord of the three worlds, the gods sought to gratifyhim for inducing him to accept the drivership.

“‘”The Grandsire said, ‘There is nothing of untruth in all this that yehave said, ye denizens of heaven. I will hold the reins of the steeds forKapaddin while he will be engaged in fight.’ Then that illustrious god,that Creator of the worlds, the Grandsire, was appointed by the gods asthe driver of the high-souled Ishana. And when he was about to ascendquickly upon that car worshipped by all, those steeds, endued with thespeed of the wind, bowed themselves with their heads to the Earth. Havingascended the car the illustrious Deity, viz., the Grandsire resplendentwith his own energy, took the reins and the goad. Then the illustriousgod, raising those steeds addressed that foremost one among the gods,viz., Sthanu, saying, ‘Ascend.’ Then, taking that arrow composed ofVishnu and Soma and Agni, Sthanu ascended the car, causing the foe totremble by means of his bow. The great Rishis, the Gandharvas, thethrongs of gods, and the diverse tribes of Apsaras, then praised thatLord of the gods after he had ascended the car. Resplendent with beauty,the boon-giving Lord, armed with scimitar, shaft, and bow, stayed on thecar causing the three worlds to blaze forth with his own energy. Thegreat Deity once more said unto the gods headed by Indra, ‘Ye shouldnever grieve, doubting my ability to destroy the Asura. Know that theAsuras have already been slain by means of this arrow’. The gods thenanswered, saying, ‘It is true! The Asuras have already been slain.’Indeed, the gods thinking that the words which the divine Lord had saidcould not be untrue, became exceedingly gratified. Then that Lord of thegods proceeded surrounded by all the gods, upon that large car, O king,which had nothing to compare with it. And the illustrious Deity wasadored, all the while by the attendants that always wait upon him, and byothers that subsisted on meat, that were invincible in battle, and thatdanced in joy on the present occasion, running wildly on all sides andshouting at one another, Rishis also, of great good fortune, possessed ofascetic merit and endued with high qualities, as also the gods, wishedfor Mahadeva’s success. When that boon-giving Lord, that dispeller of thefears of the three worlds, thus proceeded, the entire universe, all thegods, O best of men, became exceedingly gratified. And the Rishis thereadored the Lord of the gods with diverse hymns, and enhancing his energy,O king, took up their station there. And millions upon millions ofGandharvas played upon diverse kinds of musical instruments at the hourof his setting out. When the boon-giving Brahman, having ascended thecar, set out for the Asuras, the Lord of the Universe, smiling the while,said, ‘Excellent, Excellent! Proceed, O god, to the spot where theDaityas are. Urge the steeds wakefully. Behold today the might of armswhile I slay the foe in battle.’ Thus addressed, Brahman urged thosesteeds endued with the fleetness of the wind or thought towards that spotwhere the triple city, O king, stood, protected by the Daityas and theDanavas. With those steeds worshipped by all the worlds, and whichcoursed with such speed that they seemed to devour the skies, theillustrious god quickly proceeded for the victory of the denizens ofheaven. Indeed, when Bhava, riding on the car, set out towards the triplecity, his bull uttered tremendous roars, filling all the points of thecompass. Hearing that loud and terrible roar of the bull, many of thedescendants and followers of Taraka, those enemies of the gods, breathedtheir last. Others amongst them stood facing the foe for battle. ThenSthanu, O king, armed with trident became deprived of his senses inwrath. All creatures became frightened, and the three worlds began totremble. Frightful portents appeared when he was on the point of aimingthat shaft. In consequence, however, of the pressure caused by the weightof Soma, Agni, and Vishnu that were in that shaft, as also of thepressure caused by the weight of Brahman and Rudra and the latter’s bow,that car seemed to sink. Then Narayana, issuing out of the point of thatshaft, assumed the form of a bull and raised that large car. During thetime the car had sunk and the foe had began to roar, the illustriousDeity, endued with great might began, from rage, to utter loud shouts,standing, O giver of honours, on the head of his bull and the back of hissteeds. At that time the illustrious Rudra was employed in eyeing theDanava city. While in that posture, O best of men, Rudra cut off theteats of the horses and clove the hoofs of the bull. Blessed be thou,from the date the hoofs of all animals of the bovine species came to becloven. And from that time, O king, horses, afflicted by the mighty Rudraof wonderful deeds, came to be without teats. Then Sarva, having stringedhis bow and aimed that shaft with which he had united the Pasupataweapon, waited thinking of the triple city. And O king, as Rudra thusstood, holding his bow, the three cities during that time became united.When the three cities, losing their separate characters became united,tumultuous became the joy of the high-souled gods. Then all the gods, theSiddhas, and the great Rishis, uttered the word Jaya, adoring Maheshwara.The triple city then appeared immediately before that god of unbearableenergy, that Deity of fierce and indescribable form, that warrior who wasdesirous of slaying the Asuras. The illustrious deity, that Lord of theuniverse, then drawing that celestial bow, sped that shaft whichrepresented the might of the whole universe, at the triple city. Uponthat foremost of shafts, O thou of great good fortune, being shot, loudwails of woe were heard from those cities as they began to fall downtowards the Earth. Burning those Asuras, he threw them down into theWestern ocean. Thus was the triple city burnt and thus were the Danavasexterminated by Maheswara in wrath, from desire of doing good to thethree worlds. The fire born of his own wrath, the three-eyed godquenched, saying, ‘Do not reduce the three worlds to ashes.’ After this,the gods, the Rishis, and the three worlds became all restored to theirnatural dispositions, and gratified Sthanu of unrivalled energy withwords of high import. Receiving then the permission of the great god, thegods with the Creator at their head went away to the places they camefrom, their object being accomplished after such effort. Thus thatillustrious Deity, that Creator of the worlds, that Lord of both the Godsand the Asuras, viz., Maheswara, did that which was for the good of allthe worlds. As the illustrious Brahman, the Creator of the worlds, theGrandsire, the Supreme Deity of unfading glory, acted as the driver ofRudra, so do thou restrain the steeds of the high-souled son of Radhalike Grandsire restraining those of Rudra. There is not the slightestdoubt, O tiger among kings, that thou art superior to Krishna, to Karna,and to Phalguna. In battle, Karna is like Rudra, and thou art likeBrahman in policy. United, ye two, therefore, are competent to vanquishmy foes that are even like the Asuras. Let, O Shalya, that be donespeedily today by which this Karna, grinding the Pandava troops, may beable to slay Kunti’s son owning white steeds and having Krishna for thedriver of his car. Upon thee depend Karna, ourselves, our kingdom, and(our) victory in battle. Hold the reins, therefore, of the excellentsteeds (of Karna). There is another story which I will narrate. Listenonce more to it. A virtuous brahmana had recited it in the presence of myfather. Hearing these delightful words fraught with the reasons andpurposes of acts, do, O Shalya, what thou mayst settle, withoutentertaining any scruples. In the race of the Bhrigus was Jamadagni ofsevere ascetic penances. He had a son endued with energy and everyvirtue, who became celebrated by the name of Rama. Practising theausterest penances, of cheerful soul, bound to observances and vows, andkeeping his senses under control, he gratified the god Bhava forobtaining weapons. In consequence of his devotion and tranquillity ofheart. Mahadeva became gratified with him. Sankara, understanding thedesire cherished in his heart, showed himself unto Rama. And Mahadevasaid, ‘O Rama, I am gratified with thee. Blessed be thou, thy desire isknown to me. Make thy soul pure. Thou wilt then have all that thoudesirest. I will give thee all weapons when thou wilt become pure. Thoseweapons, O son, of Bhrigu, burn a person that is incompetent and that isnot deserving of them.’ Thus addressed by that god of gods, that deitybearing the trident, the son of Jamadagni, bending his head unto thatpuissant high-souled one, said, ‘O god of gods, it behoveth thee to givethose weapons unto me that am always devoted to thy service, when, indeedthou wilt regard me fit for holding them.'”

“‘Duryodhana continued. “With penances then, and restraining his senses,and observances of vows, and worship and offerings and with sacrificesand Homa performed with mantras, Rama adored Sarva for many long years.At last Mahadeva, pleased with the high-souled son of Bhrigu’s race,described him, in the presence of his divine spouse, as possessed of manyvirtues: ‘This Rama, of firm vows is ever devoted to me.’ Gratified withhim, the Lord Sankara thus repeatedly proclaimed his virtues in thepresence of gods and the Rishis, O slayer of foes. Meanwhile, the Daityasbecame very mighty. Blinded by pride and folly, they afflicted thedenizens of heaven. The gods then, uniting together, and firmly resolvedto slay them, strove earnestly for the destruction of those foes. They,however, failed to vanquish them. The gods then, repairing to Maheswara,the Lord of Uma, began to gratify him with devotion, saying, ‘Slay ourfoes.’ That god, having promised the destruction of their foes unto thecelestials, summoned Rama the descendant of Bhrigu. And Sankara addressedRama, saying, ‘O descendant of Bhrigu, slay all the assembled foes of thegods, from desire of doing good unto all the worlds as also for mysatisfaction.’ Thus addressed, Rama replied unto that boon-giving Lord ofThree-eyes, saying, ‘What strength have I, O chief of the gods destituteas I am of weapons, to slay in battle the assembled Danavas that areaccomplished in weapons and invincible in fight? Maheswara said, ‘Go thouat my command. Thou shalt slay those foes. Having vanquished all thoseenemies, thou shalt acquire numerous merits.’ Hearing these words andaccepting them all, Rama, causing propitiatory rites to be performed forhis success, proceeded against the Danavas. Addressing those enemies ofthe gods that were endued with might and possessed with folly and pride,he said, ‘Ye Daityas that are fierce in battle, give me battle. I havebeen sent by the God of gods to vanquish you.’ Thus addressed by thedescendant of Bhrigu, the Daityas began to fight. The delighter of theBhargavas, however, slaying the Daityas in battle, with strokes whosetouch resembled that of Indra’s thunder, came back to Mahadeva.Jamadagni’s son, that foremost of brahmanas returned with many wounds onhis person inflicted by the Danavas. Touched, however by Sthanu, hiswounds were immediately healed. Gratified also with that feat of his, theillustrious god gave diverse kinds of boons unto the high-souled son ofBhrigu. With satisfaction in his heart, the trident-wielding God of godssaid, ‘The pain thou hast suffered in consequence of the fall of weaponsupon thy body evidences the super-human feat that thou hast achieved, Odelighter of the Bhrigus. As desired by thee, accept from me thesecelestial weapons.'”

“‘Duryodhana continued, “Having obtained all the celestial weapons andthe boons that had been desired by him, Rama bowed unto Siva with hishead. Obtaining the leave also of the gods that great ascetic went away.This is the old story that the rishi had recited. The descendant ofBhrigu gave the whole science of weapons unto the high-souled Karna, Otiger among kings with delighted heart. If Karna had any fault, O lord ofEarth, the delighter of Bhrigu’s race would never have given him hiscelestial weapons. I do not think that Karna could have been born in theSuta order. I think him to be the son of a god, born in the kshatriyaorder. I think that he was abandoned (in infancy) in order that the racein which he was born might be ascertained (by his features and feats). Byno means, O Shalya, could this Karna have been born in the Suta order.With his (natural) earring and (natural) coat of mail, this mightycar-warrior of long arms, resembling Surya himself, could not be borne bya common woman even as a she-deer can never bear a tiger. His arms aremassive, each resembling the trunk of a prince of elephants. Behold hischest that is so broad and capable of resisting every foe. Karnaotherwise called Vaikartana, O king, cannot be an ordinary person. Enduedwith great valour, this disciple of Rama, O king of kings, is ahigh-souled personage.'”