SECTION –XXII
(Arjunabhigamana Parva Continued)
"Vasudeva continued, 'Then O thou foremost
of the Bharata race, taking up my beautiful bow, I began to cut off with my
arrows the heads of the enemies of the celestials, from off that car of costly
metals! And I began to discharge from the Sharanga many well-looking arrows of
the forms of snakes, capable of going at a great height and possessing intense
energy. And, O perpetuator of the Kuru race, I could not then see the car of
costly metals, for it had vanished, through illusion! I was then filled with
wonder! That host of Danvas then, O Bharata, of frightful visages and hair, set
up a loud howl while I was waiting for it. In that fierce battle. I then, with
the object of destroying them, fixed on my bow-string the weapon capable of
piercing the foes if but his sound was inaudible. Upon this, their shouts
ceased. But those Danavas that had sent up that shout were all slain by those
shafts of mine blazing as the Sun himself, and capable of striking at the
perception of sound alone. And after the shout had ceased at one place, O
mighty king, another yell proceeded from another quarter. Thitherto also I sent
my shafts. In this way, O Bharata, the Asuras began to send up yells in all the
ten quarters above and across. These were all slain by me, viz., those that
were in the skies and that were invisible, with arrows of diverse forms, and
celestial weapons inspired with mantras. Then, O hero, that car of precious
metals capable of going anywhere at will, bewildering my eyes, reappeared at
Pragjyotisha! And then the destroying Danavas of fierce forms suddenly drowned
me with a mighty shower of rocks. And, O thou foremost of monarchs, torrents of
rocks falling upon me covered me up, and I began to grow like an ant-hill (with
its summits and peaks)! And covered along with my horses and charioteer and
flagstaffs, with crags on all sides, I disappeared from sight altogether. Then
those foremost of heroes of the Vrishni race who were of my army were, struck
with panic, and all on a sudden began to fly in all directions. And beholding
me in that plight, O king, the heaven, the firmament, and the earth were filled
with exclamation of Oh! and Alas! And then, O monarch, my friends filled with
sorrow and grief began to weep and wail with heavy hearts! And delight filled
the hearts of the enemies. And O thou who never waverest, I heard of this after
I had defeated the foe! And then wielding the thunderbolt, that favourite
(weapon) of Indra, capable of riving stones, I destroyed that entire mass of
crags! But my steeds, afflicted with the weight of the stones and almost on the
point of death began to tremble. And beholding me, all my friends rejoiced
again even as men rejoice on seeing the sun rise in the sky, dispersing the
clouds. And seeing my horses almost in their last gasp for breath, afflicted
with that load of stones, my charioteer said unto me in words suitable to the
occasion, 'O thou of the Vrishni race, behold Salwa the owner of the car of
precious metals sitting (yonder). Do not disregard him! Do thou exert thyself!
Do thou abandon thy mildness and consideration for Salwa. Slay Salwa, O thou of
mighty arms! O Kesava, do not let him live! O hero, O thou destroyer of those
that are not thy friends (enemies), an enemy should be slain with every
exertion! Even a weak enemy who is under the feet of a man endued with
strength, should not be disregarded by the latter: that (shall I say) of one
that dareth us to the fight? Therefore, O thou tiger among men, putting forth
every exertion, slay him, O lord, O thou foremost of the Vrishni race! Do thou
not delay again! This one is not capable of being vanquished by milder
measures. And he cannot in my opinion be thy friend who is fighting thee and
who devastated Dwaraka!' O Kaunteya, hearing such words of my charioteer, and
knowing that what he said was true, I directed my attention to the fight
(afresh), with the view of slaying Salwa and destroying the car of costly
metals! And, O hero, saying unto Daruka, 'Stay a moment' I fixed on my
bow-string my favourite weapon of fire, blazing and of celestial origin, of
irresistible force, and incapable of being baffled, bursting with energy,
capable of penetrating into everything, and of great splendour! And saying,
'Destroy the car of precious metals together with all those enemies that are in
it.' I launched with the might of my arms and in wrath with mantras, the great
powerful discus Sudarsana which reduceth to ashes in battle Yakshas and
Rakshasas and Danavas and kings born in impure tribes, sharp-edged like the razor,
and without stain, like unto Yama the destroyer, and incomparable, and which
killeth enemies. And rising into the sky, it seemed like a second sun of
exceeding effulgence at the end of the Yuga. And approaching the town of Saubha
whose splendour had disappeared, the discus went right through it, even as a
saw divideth a tall tree. And cut in twain by the energy of the Sudarsana it
fell like the city of Tripura shaken by the shafts of Maheswara. And after the
town of Saubha had fallen, the discus came back into my hands, And taking it up
I once more hurled it with force saying, 'Go thou unto Salwa.' The discus then
cleft Salwa in twain who in that fierce conflict was at the point of hurling a
heavy mace. And with its energy it set the foe ablaze. And after that brave
warrior was slain, the disheartened Danava women fled in all directions,
exclaiming Oh! and Alas! And taking my chariot in front of the town of Saubha I
cheerfully blew my conch and gladdened the hearts of my friends. And beholding
their town, high as the peak of the Meru, with its palaces and gate-ways
utterly destroyed, and all ablaze, the Danavas fled in fear. And having thus
destroyed the town of Saubha and slain Salwa, I returned to the Anarttas and
delighted my friends. And, O king, it is for this reason that I could not come
to the city named after the elephant (Hastinapura), O destroyer of hostile
heroes! O warrior, if I had come, Suyodhana would not have been alive or the
match at dice would not have taken place. What can I do now? It is difficult to
confine the waters after the dam is broken!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Having addressed
the Kaurava thus, that foremost of male persons, of mighty arms, the slayer of
Madhu, possessed of every grace, saluting the Pandavas, prepared for departure.
And the mighty-armed hero reverentially saluted Yudhishthira the just, and the
king in return and Bhima also smelt the crown of his head. And he was embraced
by Arjuna, and the twins saluted him with reverence. And he was duly honoured
by Dhaumya, and worshipped with tears by Draupadi. And causing Subhadra and
Abhimanyu to ascend his golden car,
Krishna, mounted it himself, worshipped by the
Pandavas. And consoling Yudhishthira, Krishna set out for Dwaraka on his car
resplendent as the sun and unto which were yoked the horses Saivya and Sugriva.
And after he of the Dasharha race had departed, Dhristadyumna, the son of
Prishata, also set out for his own city, taking with him the sons of Draupadi.
And the king of Chedi, Dhrishtaketu also, taking his sister with him set out
for his beautiful city of Suktimati, after bidding farewell to the Pandavas.
And, O Bharata, the Kaikeyas also, with the permission of Kunti's son possessed
of immeasurable energy, having reverentially saluted all the Pandavas, went
away. But Brahmanas and the Vaisyas and the dwellers of Yudhishthira's kingdom
though repeatedly requested to go, did not leave the Pandavas. O foremost of
king, O bull of the Bharata race, the multitude that surrounded those high-souled
ones in the forest of Kamyaka looked extraordinary. And Yudhishthira, honouring
those high-minded Brahmanas, in due time ordered his men, saying 'Make ready
the car.'"
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