SECTION XXVI
Vaisampayana continued,--thus addressed, Dhananjaya replied unto
Bhagadatta, saying,--'If you wilt give your promise to do this, you hast
done all I desire. And having thus subjugated the king of Pragjyotisha,
Dhananjaya of long arms, the son of Kunti, then marched towards the
north--the direction presided over by the lord of treasures. That bull
amongst men, that son of Kunti, then conquered the mountainous tracts and
their outskirts, as also the hilly regions. And having conquered all the
mountains and the kings that reigned there, and bringing them under his
sway, he exacted tributes from all. And winning the affections of those
kings and uniting himself with them, he next marched, O king, against
Vrihanta, the king of Uluka, making this earth tremble with the sound of
his drums, the clatter of his chariot-wheels, and the roar of the
elephants in his train. Vrihanta, however, quickly coming out of his city
followed by his army consisting of four kinds of troops, gave battle to
Falguna (Arjuna). And the fight that took place between Vrihanta and
Dhananjaya was terrible. It so happened that Vrihanta was unable to bear
the prowess of the son of Pandu. Then that invincible king of the
mountainous region regarding the son of Kunti irresistible, approached
him with all his wealth. Arjuna snatched out the kingdom from Vrihanta,
but having made peace with him marched, accompanied by that king, against
Senavindu whom he soon expelled from his kingdom. After this he
subjugated Modapura, Vamadeva, Sudaman, Susankula, the Northern Ulukas,
and the kings of those countries and peoples. Hereafter at the command of
Yudhishthira, O monarch, Arjuna, did not move from the city of Senavindu
but sent his troops only and brought under his sway those five countries
and peoples. For Arjuna, having arrived at Devaprastha, the city of
Senavindu, took up his quarters there with his army consisting of four
kinds of forces. Thence, surrounded by the kings and the peoples he had
subjugated, the hero marched against king Viswagaswa--that bull of Puru's
race. Having vanquished in battle the brave mountaineers, who were all
great warriors, the son of Pandu, O king, then occupied with the help of
his troops, the town protected by the Puru king. Having vanquished in
battle the Puru king, as also the robber tribes, of the mountains, the
son of Pandu brought under his sway the seven tribes called
Utsava-sanketa. That bull of the Kshatriya race then defeated the brave
Kshatriyas of Kashmira and also king Lohita along with ten minor chiefs.
Then the Trigartas, the Daravas, the Kokonadas, and various other
Kshatriyas, O king, advanced against the son of Pandu. That Prince of the
Kuru race then took the delightful town of Avisari, and then brought
under his sway Rochamana ruling in Uraga. Then the son of Indra (Arjuna),
putting forth his might, pressed the delightful town of Singhapura that
was well-protected with various weapons. Then Arjuna, that bull amongst
the son of Pandu, at the head of all his troops, fiercely attacked the
regions called Suhma and Sumala. Then the son of Indra, endued with great
prowess, after pressing them with great force, brought the Valhikas
always difficult of being vanquished, under his sway. Then Falguna, the
son of Pandu, taking with him a select force, defeated the Daradas along
with the Kambojas. Then the exalted son of Indra vanquished the robber
tribes that dwelt in the north-eastern frontier and those also that dwelt
in the woods. And, O great king, the son of Indra also subjugated the
allied tribes of the Lohas, the eastern Kambojas, and northern Rishikas.
And the battle with the Rishikas was fierce in the extreme. Indeed, the
fight that took place between them and the son of Pritha was equal to
that between the gods and the Asuras in which Taraka (the wife of
Vrihaspati) had become the cause of so much slaughter. And defeating, O
king, the Rishikas in the field of battle, Arjuna took from them as
tribute eight horses that were of the colour of the parrot's breast, as
also other horses of the hues of the peacock, born in northern and other
climes and endued with high speed. At last having conquered all the
Himalayas and the Nishkuta mountains, that bull among men, arriving at
the White mountains, encamped on its breast."
--------------------END OF PARVA 2 : UPA-PARVA 26 ---------------------
