SECTION CXXXVI
(Sambhava Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'O thou of Bharata's
race, beholding the sons of Dhritarashtra and Pandu accomplished in arms,
Drona, O monarch, addressed king Dhritarashtra, in the presence of Kripa,
Somadatta, Valhika, the wise son of Ganga (Bhishma), Vyasa, and Vidura, and
said, 'O best of Kuru kings, thy children have completed their education. With
thy permission, O king, let them now show their proficiency.' Hearing him, the
king said with a gladdened heart, 'O best of Brahmanas, thou hast, indeed,
accomplished a great deed. Command me thyself as to the place and the time
where and when and the manner also in which the trial may be held. Grief
arising from my own blindness maketh me envy those who, blessed with sight,
will behold my children's prowess in arm. O Kshatri (Vidura), do all that Drona
sayeth. O thou devoted to virtue, I think there is nothing that can be more
agreeable to me.' Then Vidura, giving the necessary assurance to the king, went
out to do what he was bid. And Drona endued with great wisdom, then measured
out a piece of land that was void of trees and thickets and furnished with
wells and springs. And upon the spot of land so measured out, Drona, that first
of eloquent men, selecting a lunar day when the star ascendant was auspicious,
offered up sacrifice unto the gods in the presence of the citizens assembled by
proclamation to witness the same. And then, O bull among men, the artificers of
the king built thereon a large and elegant stage according to the rules laid
down in the scriptures, and it was furnished with all kinds of weapons. They
also built another elegant hall for the lady-spectators. And the citizens
constructed many platforms while the wealthier of them pitched many spacious
and high tents all around.
"When the day fixed for the Tournament came,
the king accompanied by his ministers, with Bhishma and Kripa, the foremost of
preceptors, walking ahead, came unto that theatre of almost celestial beauty
constructed of pure gold, and decked with strings of pearls and stones of lapis
lazuli. And, O first of victorious men, Gandhari blessed with great good
fortune and Kunti, and the other ladies of the royal house-hold, in gorgeous
attire and accompanied by their waiting women, joyfully ascended the platforms,
like celestial ladies ascending the Sumeru mountain. And the four orders
including the Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, desirous of beholding the princes'
skill in arms, left the city and came running to the spot. And so impatient was
everyone to behold the spectacle, that the vast crowd assembled there in almost
an instant. And with the sounds of trumpets and drums and the noise of many
voices, that vast concourse appeared like an agitated ocean.
"At last, Drona accompanied by his son,
dressed in white (attire), with a white sacred thread, white locks, white
beard, white garlands, and white sandal-paste rubbed over his body, entered the
lists. It seemed as if the Moon himself accompanied by the planet Mars appeared
in an unclouded sky. On entering Bharadwaja performed timely worship and caused
Brahmanas versed in mantras to celebrate the auspicious rites. And after
auspicious and sweet-sounding musical instruments had been struck up as a
propitiatory ceremony, some persons entered, equipped with various arms. And
then having girded up their loins, those mighty warriors, those foremost ones
of Bharata's race (the princes) entered, furnished with finger-protectors
(gauntlet), and bows, and quivers. And with Yudhishthira at their head, the
valiant princes entered in order of age and began to show wonderful skill with
their weapons. Some of the spectators lowered their heads, apprehending fall of
arrows while others fearlessly gazed on with wonder. And riding swiftly on horses
and managing them 'dexterously' the princes began to hit marks with shafts
engraved with their respective names. And seeing the prowess of the princes
armed with bows and arrows, the spectators thought that they were beholding the
city of the Gandharvas, became filled with amazement. And, O Bharata, all on a
sudden, some hundreds and thousands, with eyes wide open in wonder, exclaimed,
'Well done! Well done!' And having repeatedly displayed their skill and
dexterity in the use of bows and arrows and in the management of cars, the
mighty warriors took up their swords and bucklers, and began to range the
lists, playing their weapons. The spectators saw (with wonder) their agility,
the symmetry of their bodies, their grace, their calmness, the firmness of
their grasp and their deftness in the use of sword and buckler. Then Vrikodara
and Suyodhana, internally delighted (at the prospect of fight), entered the
arena, mace in hand, like two single-peaked mountains. And those mighty-armed
warriors braced their loins, and summoning all their energy, roared like two
infuriate elephants contending for a cow-elephant; and like two infuriated
elephants those mighty heroes faultlessly (in consonance with the dictates of
the science of arm) careered right and left, circling the lists. And Vidura
described to Dhritarashtra and the mother of the Pandavas (Kunti) and Gandhari,
all the feats of the princes.'"
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