SECTION CXIII
(Sambhava Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Sometime after,
Bhishma the intelligent son of Santanu set his heart upon getting Pandu married
to a second wife. Accompanied by an army composed of four kinds of force, and
also by aged councillors and Brahmanas and great Rishis, he went to the capital
of the king of Madra. And that bull of the Valhikas--the king of Madra--hearing
that Bhishma had arrived, went out to receive him. And having received him with
respect, he got him to enter his palace. Arriving there, the king of Madra
offered unto Bhishma a white carpet for a seat; water to wash his feet with,
and usual oblation of various ingredients indicative of respect. And when he
was seated at ease, the king asked him about the reason of his visit. Then
Bhishma--the supporter of the dignity of the Kurus--addressed the king of Madra
and said, 'O oppressor of all foes, know that I have come for the hand of a
maiden. It hath been heard by us that thou hast a sister named Madri celebrated
for her beauty and endued with every virtue; I would chose her for Pandu. Thou
art, O king, in every respect worthy of an alliance with us, and we also are
worthy of thee. Reflecting upon all this, O king of Madra, accept us duly.' The
ruler of Madra, thus addressed by Bhishma, replied, 'To my mind, there is none
else than one of thy family with whom I can enter into an alliance. But there
is a custom in our family observed by our ancestors, which, be it good or bad,
I am incapable of transgressing. It is well-known, and therefore is known to
thee as well, I doubt not. Therefore, it is not proper for thee to say to
me,--Bestow thy sister. The custom to which I allude is our family custom. With
us that is a virtue and worthy of observance. It is for this only, O slayer of
foes, I cannot give thee any assurance in the matter of thy request.' On
hearing this, Bhishma answered the king of Madra, saying, 'O king, this, no
doubt,' is a virtue. The self-create himself hath said it. Thy ancestors were
observant of custom. There is no fault to find with it. It is also well-known,
O Salya, that this custom in respect of family dignity hath the approval of the
wise and the good.' Saying this Bhishma of great energy, gave unto Salya much
gold both coined and uncoined, and precious stones of various colours by
thousands, and elephants and horses and cars, and much cloth and many
ornaments, and gems and pearls and corals. And Salya accepting with a cheerful
heart those precious gifts then gave away his sister decked in ornaments unto
that bull of the Kuru race. Then the wise Bhishma, the son of the oceangoing
Ganga, rejoiced at the issue of his mission, took Madri with him, and returned
to the Kuru capital named after the elephant.
"Then selecting on auspicious day and moment
as indicated by the wise for the ceremony, King Pandu was duly united with
Madri. And after the nuptials were over, the Kuru king established his
beautiful bride in handsome apartments. And, O king of kings, that best of
monarchs then gave himself up to enjoyment in the company of his two wives as
best he liked and to the limit of his desires. And after thirty days had
elapsed, the Kuru king, O monarch, started from his capital for the conquest of
the world. And after reverentially saluting and bowing to Bhishma and the other
elders of the Kuru race, and with adieus to Dhritarashtra and others of the
family, and obtaining their leave, he set out on his grand campaign,
accompanied by a large force of elephants, horses, and cars, and well-pleased
with the blessings uttered by all around and the auspicious rites performed by
the citizens for his success. And Pandu, accompanied by such a strong force
marched against various foes. And that tiger among men--that spreader of the
fame of the Kurus--first subjugated the robber tribes of asarna. He next turned
his army composed of innumerable elephants, cavalry, infantry, and charioteers,
with standards of various colours against Dhirga--the ruler of the kingdom of
Maghadha who was proud of his strength, and offended against numerous monarchs.
And attacking him in his capital, Pandu slew him there, and took everything in
his treasury and also vehicles and draught animals without number. He then
marched into Mithila and subjugated the Videhas. And then, O bull among men,
Pandu led his army against Kasi, Sumbha, and Pundra, and by the strength and
prowess of his arms spread the fame of the Kurus. And Pandu, that oppressor of
foes, like unto a mighty fire whose far-reaching flames were represented by his
arrows and splendour by his weapons, began to consume all kings that came in
contact with him. These with their forces, vanquished by Pandu at the head of
his army, were made the vassals of the Kurus. And all kings of the world, thus
vanquished by him, regarded him as the one single hero on earth even as the
celestials regard Indra in heaven. And the kings of earth with joined palms
bowed to him and waited on him with presents of various kinds of gems and
wealth, precious stones and pearls and corals, and much gold and silver, and
first-class kine and handsome horses and fine cars and elephants, and asses and
camels and buffaloes, and goats and sheep, and blankets and beautiful hides,
and cloths woven out of furs. And the king of Hastinapura accepting those
offerings retraced his steps towards his capital, to the great delight of his
subjects. And the citizens and others filled with joy, and kings and ministers,
all began to say, 'O, the fame of the achievements of Santanu, that tiger among
kings, and of the wise Bharata, which were about to die, hath been revived by
Pandu. They who robbed before the Kurus of both territory and wealth have been
subjugated by Pandu--the tiger of Hastinapura--and made to pay tribute.' And
all the citizens with Bhishma at their head went out to receive the victorious
king. They had not proceeded far when they saw the attendants of the king laden
with much wealth, and the train of various conveyances laden with all kinds of
wealth, and of elephants, horses, cars, kine, camels and other animals, was so
long that they saw not its end. Then Pandu, beholding Bhishma, who was a father
to him, worshipped his feet and saluted the citizens and others as each
deserved. And Bhishma, too, embracing Pandu as his son who had returned
victorious after grinding many hostile kingdoms, wept tears of joy. And Pandu,
instilling joy into the hearts of his people with a flourish of trumpets and
conchs and kettle-drums, entered his capital.'"
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