SECTION CXXXVI
(Sambhava Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'O you 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, your children have completed their education. With your permission,
O king, let them now show their proficiency.' Hearing him, the king said
with a gladdened heart, 'O best of Brahmanas, you 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 you 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 every one 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.'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 1 : UPA-PARVA 136 ---------------------
