SECTION –CLXXII
(Tirtha-yatra Parva Continued)
"Arjuna continued, 'Then while returning, I
happened to descry a mighty unearthly city, moving at will, and having the
effulgence of fire or the sun. And that city contained various trees composed
of gems, and sweet-voiced feathered ones. And furnished with four gates, and
gate-ways, and towers, that impregnable (city) was inhabited by the Paulamas
and Kalakanjas. And it was made of all sorts of jewels and was unearthly, and
of wonderful appearance. And it was covered with trees of all kinds of gems,
bearing fruits and flowers. And it contained exceedingly beautiful unearthly
birds. And it always swarmed throughout with cheerful Asuras, wearing garlands,
and bearing in their hands darts, two edged swords, maces, bows, and clubs.
And, O king, on seeing this wonderful city of the Daityas, I asked Matali
saying, 'What is this that looketh so wonderful?' Thereat, Matali replied,
'Once on a time a Daitya's daughter, named Pulama and a mighty female of the
Asura order, Kalaka by name, practised severe austerities for a thousand
celestial years. And at the end of their austerities, the self-create conferred
on them boons. And, O king of kings, they received these boons,--that their
offspring might never suffer misfortune; that they might be incapable of being
destroyed even by the gods, the Rakshasas and the Pannagas; and that they might
obtain a highly effulgent and surpassingly fair aerial city, furnished with all
manner of gems and invincible even by the celestials, the Maharshis, the
Yakshas, the Gandharvas, the Pannagas, the Asuras and the Rakshasas. O best of
the Bharatas, this is that unearthly aerial city devoid of the celestials,
which is moving about, having been created for the Kalakeyas, by Brahma himself.
And this city is furnished with all desirable objects, and is unknown of grief
or disease. And, O hero, celebrated under the name of Hiranyapura, this mighty
city is inhabited by the Paulamas and the Kalakanjas; and it is also guarded by
those mighty Asuras. And, O king, unslayed by any of the gods, there they dwell
cheerfully, free from anxiety and having all their desires gratified, O
foremost of kings. Formerly, Brahma had destined destruction at the hands of
mortals. Do thou, O Partha, in fight, compass with that weapon--the
thunder-bolt--the destruction of the mighty and irrepressible Kalakanjas.'
"Arjuna continued, 'O lord of men, learning
that they were incapable of being destroyed by the celestials and the Asuras, I
cheerfully said unto Matali, 'Do thou speedily repair into yonder city. With
weapons will I compass the annihilation of the haters of the lord of the
celestials. Surely, there exist no wicked haters of the gods who ought not to
be slain by me.' Thereupon Matali took me to the vicinity of Hiranyapura on the
celestial chariot yoked with steeds. And seeing me, those sons of Diti, wearing
various kinds of attire and ornament and accoutred in mail, flew at me with a
mighty rush. And those foremost of the Danavas, of exceeding prowess, in wrath
attacked me with arrows and bhallas and clubs and two-edged swords, and
tomaras. Thereat, O king, resorting to my strength of lore, I resisted that
great volley of weapons by a mighty shower of shafts; and also confounded them
in conflict by ranging around in my car. And being bewildered, the Danavas
began to push each other down. And having been confounded, they rushed at one
another. And with flaming arrows, I severed their heads by hundreds. And hard
pressed by me, the offspring of Diti, taking shelter within (their) city,
soared with it to the firmament, resorting to the illusion proper to the
Danavas. Thereupon, O son of the Kurus, covering the way of the Daityas, with a
mighty discharge of shafts I obstructed their course. Then by virtue of the bestowal
of the boon, the Daityas supported themselves easily on that sky-ranging
unearthly aerial city, going anywhere at will and like unto the sun. And now
(the city) entered unto the earth and now it rose upwards; and at one time it
went in a crooked way and at another time it submerged into water. At this, O
represser of foes, I assailed that mighty city, going anywhere at will, and
resembling Amaravati. And, O best of the Bharatas, I attacked the city
containing those sons of Diti, with multitudes of shafts, displaying celestial
weapons. And battered and broken by the straight-coursing iron shafts, shot by
me, the city of the Asuras, O king, fell to the earth. And they also, wounded
by my iron arrows having the speed of the thunder, began, O monarch, to go
about, being urged by destiny. Then ascending to the sky, Matali, as if falling
in front, swiftly descended to the earth, on that chariot of solar
resplendence. Then, O Bharata, environed me sixty thousand cars belonging to
those wrathful ones eager to battle with me. And with sharpened shafts graced
with feathers of the vulture, I destroyed those (cars). At this, thinking,
'These our hosts are incapable of being vanquished by mortals, they became
engaged in the conflict, like unto the surges of the sea.' Thereupon I
gradually began to fix (on the string) unearthly weapons. At this, thousands of
weapons (shot) by those wonderfully warring charioteers, by degrees opposed my
unearthly arms and in the field I saw hundreds and thousands of mighty (demons)
ranging on their cars, in various manoeuvres. And being furnished with
variegated mail and standards and diverse ornaments, they delighted my mind.
And in the conflict I could not afflict them by showers of shafts, but they did
not afflict me. And being afflicted by those innumerable ones, equipped in
weapons and skilled in fight, I was pained in that mighty encounter and a
terrible fear seized me. Thereupon collecting (my energies) in fight, I (bowed
down) unto that god of gods, Raudra, and saying, 'May welfare attend on all
beings!' I fixed that mighty weapon which, celebrated under the name of Raudra,
is the destroyer of all foes. Then I beheld a male person having three heads,
nine eyes, three faces, and six arms. And his hair was flaming like fire or the
sun. And, O slayer of foes, for his dress, he had mighty serpents, putting out
their tongues. And saying, O best of the Bharatas, the dreadful and eternal
Raudra, I being free from fear, set it on the Gandiva; and, bowing unto the
three-eyed Sarva of immeasurable energy, let go (the weapon), with the object
of vanquishing those foremost of the Danavas, O Bharata. And, O lord of men, as
soon as it had been hurled, there appeared on the scene by thousands, forms of
deer, and of lions, and of tigers, and of bears and of buffaloes, and of
serpents, and of kine, and of sarabhas, and of elephants, and of apes in
multitudes, and of bulls, and of boars, and of cats, and of dogs, and of
spectres, and of all the Bhurundas, and of vultures, and of Garudas, of chamaras,
and of all the leopards, and of mountains, and of seas, and of celestials, and
of sages, and of all the Gandharvas, and of ghosts with the Yakshas, and of the
haters of the gods, (Asuras), and of the Guhyakas in the field, and of the
Nairitas and of elephant-mouthed sharks, and of owls, and of beings having the
forms of fishes and horses, and of beings bearing swords and various other
weapons, and of Rakshasas wielding maces and clubs. And on that weapon being
hurled all the universe became filled with these as well as many others wearing
various shapes. And again and again wounded by beings of various sights with
(pieces of) flesh, fat, bones, and marrow on their persons,--some having three
heads, and some four tusks, and some four mouths, and some four arms,--the
Danavas met with destruction. And, then, O Bharata, in a moment I slew all
those Danavas, with other swarms of arrows composed of the quintessence of
stone, flaming like fire or the sun, and possessed of the force of the
thunder-bolt. And, seeing them hewn by the Gandiva, and deprived of life, and
thrown from the sky, I again bowed unto that god--the Destroyer of Tripura.
And, seeing those adorned with unearthly ornaments, crushed by the weapon, the
Raudra, the charioteer of the celestials, experienced the greatest delight. And
having witnessed the accomplishment of that unbearable feat incapable of being
achieved even by the celestials themselves, Matali, the charioteer of Sakra,
paid homage unto me; and well-pleased, with joint hands said these words. 'The
feat that hath been achieved by thee, is incapable of being borne even by the
gods, nay,--in battle, the lord of the celestials himself cannot perform this
deed. The sky-coursing mighty city incapable of being destroyed by the gods and
the Asuras hast thou, O hero, crushed by thy own prowess and by the energy of
asceticism. And when that aerial city had been destroyed, and when the Danavas
also had been slain, their wives, uttering cries of distress, like unto Kurari
birds, with hair dishevelled came out of the city. And bewailing for their sons
and brothers and fathers, they fell on the ground and cried with distressful
accents. And on being deprived for their lords, they beat their breasts, their
garlands and ornaments fallen off. And that city of Danavas, in appearance like
unto the city of the Gandharvas filled with lamentations and stricken with dole
and distress, and bereft of grace even like unto a lake deprived of (its)
elephants, or like unto a forest deprived of trees and (deprived of its)
masters, looked no longer beautiful--but it vanished, like a cloud-constructed
city. And when I had accomplished the task, eftsoons from the field Matali took
me of delighted spirits, unto the abode of the lord of the celestials. And having
slain those mighty Asuras, and destroyed Hiranyapura, and having also killed
the Nivata-Kavachas, I came unto Indra. And, O exceedingly resplendent one, as
it had fallen out, Matali related in detail unto Devendra that entire
achievement of mine. And with the Marutas, hearing of the destruction of
Hiranyapura, of the neutralisation of the illusion, and of the slaughter of the
highly powerful Nivatakavachas in fight, the prosperous thousand-eyed divine
Purandara was well pleased, and exclaimed, 'Well done; Well done!' And the king
of the celestials together with the celestials, cheering me again and again,
said these sweet words, 'By thee hath been achieved a feat incapable of being
achieved by the gods and the Asuras. And, O Partha, by slaying my mighty enemies,
thou hast paid the preceptor's fee. And, O Dhananjaya, thus in battle shalt
thou always remain calm, and discharge the weapons unerringly, and there shall
not stand thee in fight celestials, and Danavas, and Rakshasas, and Yakshas,
and Asuras, and Gandharvas and birds and serpents. And, O Kaunteya, by
conquering it even by the might of thy arms, Kunti's son Yudhishthira, will
rule the earth.'"
){kind=link}
0 Comments
If you have any Misunderstanding Please let me know