SECTION CLXVII
"Arjuna said, 'O Bharata, by the grace of that god of gods the Supreme
Soul, Tryamvaka, I passed the night at that place. And having passed the
night, when I had finished the morning rituals, I saw that foremost of
the Brahmanas whom I had seen before. And unto him I told all as it had
happened, O Bharata, namely, that I had met the divine Mahadeva.
Thereupon, O king of kings, well-pleased, he said unto me, 'Since thou
hast beheld the great god, incapable of being beheld by any one else,
soon wilt you mix with Vaivaswata and the other Lokapalas and the lord
of the celestials; and Indra too will grant you weapons.' O king, having
said this unto me and having embraced me again and again, that Bhrahmana
resembling the Sun, went away whither he listed. And, O slayer of foes,
it came to pass that on the evening of that day refreshing the whole
world, there began to blow a pure breeze. And in my vicinity on the base
of the Himalaya mountain fresh, fragrant and fair flowers began to bloom.
And on all sides there were heard charming symphony and captivating hymns
relating to Indra. And before the lord of the celestial hosts of Apsaras
and Gandharvas chanted various songs. And ascending celestial cars, there
approached the Marutas and the followers of Mahendra and the dwellers of
heaven. And afterwards, Marutvan together with Sachi and all the
celestials appeared on the scene in cars yoked with horses elegantly
adorned. And at this very moment, O king, he that goeth about on the
shoulders of men manifested himself unto me in excellent grace. And I saw
Yama seated on the south and Varuna and the lord of the celestials at
their respective regions. And, O foremost of men, O mighty monarch, they
after having cheered me said, 'O Savyasachin, behold us--the
Lokapalas--seated. For the performance of the task of the gods you hast
obtained the sight of Sankara. Do you now receive weapons from us seated
around.' Thereupon, O lord, having bowed down unto those foremost of the
celestials with regard, I duly accepted those mighty weapons. And then
they recognised me as one of their own. Afterwards the gods repaired to
the quarter from whence they had come. And that lord of the celestials,
the divine Maghavan too having ascended his glorious chariot, said, 'O
Phalguna, you shalt have to repair unto the celestial region. O
Dhananjaya, even before this your arrival I knew that you wouldst come
hither. Then I, have O best of the Bharatas, manifested myself unto thee.
As formerly you had performed your ablution in the various tirthas and
now hast performed severe austerities, so you wilt be able to repair
unto the celestial regions, O Pandava. Thou wilt, however, again have to
practise extreme penance, for you shouldst at any rate journey to
heaven. And at my command, Matali shall take you to the celestial
regions. Thou hast already been recognised by the celestials and the
celestial sages of high soul.' Thereupon I said unto Sakra, 'O divine
one, be you favourable unto me. With the view of learning arms do I
beseech you that you mayst 'be my preceptor.' At this Indra said, 'O
child, having learnt weapons you wouldst perform terrible deeds and with
this object you desirest to obtain the weapons. However, obtain you the
arms, as you desirest.' Then I said, 'O slayer of foes, I never would
discharge these celestial weapons at mortals except when all my other
arms should have been baffled. Do thou, O lord of the celestials, grant
me the celestial weapons (so that) I may hereafter, obtain the regions
attainable by warriors.' Indra said, 'O Dhananjaya it is to try you that
I have said such words unto thee. Having been begotten of me this speech
of yours well becometh thee. Do thou, O Bharata, repairing unto my abode
learn all the weapons of Vayu, of Agni, of the Vasus, of Varuna, of the
Marutas, of the Siddhas, of Brahma, of the Gandharvas of the Uragas, of
the Rakshasas, of Vishnu and of the Nairitas; and also all the weapons
that are with me, O perpetuator of the Kuru race.' Having said this unto
me Sakra vanished at the very spot. Then, O king, I saw the wonderful and
sacred celestial car yoked with steeds arrive conducted by Matali. And
when the Lokapalas went away Matali said unto me. 'O you of mighty
splendour, the lord of the celestials is desirous of seeing thee. And O
mighty-armed one, do you acquire competence and then perform your task.
Come and behold the regions, attainable by merit and come unto heaven
even in this frame. O Bharata, the thousand-eyed lord of the celestials
wisheth to see thee.' Thus addressed by Matali, I, taking leave of the
mountain Himalaya and having gone round it ascended that excellent car.
And then the exceedingly generous Matali, versed in equine lore, drove
the steeds, gifted with the speed of thought or the wind. And when the
chariot began to move that charioteer looking at my face as I was seated
steadily, wondered and said these words, 'Today this appeareth unto me
strange and unprecedented that being seated in this celestial car, thou
hast not been jerked ever so little. O foremost of Bharata race, I have
ever remarked that at the first pull by the steeds even the lord of the
celestials himself getteth jerked. But all the while that the car had
moved, you hast been sitting unshaken. This appeareth unto me as
transcending even the power of Sakra.'
"Having said this, O Bharata, Matali soared in the sky and showed me the
abodes of the celestials and their palaces. Then the chariot yoked with
steeds coursed upwards. And the celestials and the sages began to worship
(that car), O prime of men. And I saw the regions, moving anywhere at
will, and the splendour also of the highly energetic Gandharvas, Apsaras,
and the celestial sages. And Sakra's charioteer, Matali, at once showed
me Nandana and other gardens and groves belonging to the celestials. Next
I beheld Indra's abode, Amaravati, adorned with jewels and trees yielding
any sort of fruit that is desired. There the Sun doth not shed heat; nor
doth heat or cold or fatigue there affect (one), O king. And, O great
monarch, the celestials feel neither sorrow nor poverty of spirit, nor
weakness, nor lassitude, O grinder of foes. And, O ruler of men, the
celestials and the others have neither anger nor covetousness. And, O
king, in the abodes of the celestials, the beings are ever contented. And
there the trees ever bear verdant foliage, and fruits, and flowers; and
the various lakes are embalmed with the fragrance of lotuses. And there
the breeze is cool, and delicious, and fragrant, and pure, and inspiring.
And the ground is variegated with all kinds of gems, and adorned with
blossoms. And there were seen innumerable beautiful beasts and in the air
innumerable rangers of the sky. Then I saw the Vasus, and the Rudras, and
the Sadhyas with the Marutas, and the Adityas, and the two Aswins and
worshipped them. And they conferred their benison on me, granting me
strength and prowess, and energy, and celebrity, and (skill in) arms, and
victory in battle. Then, entering that romantic city adored by the
Gandharvas and the celestials, with joined hands, I stood before the
thousand-eyed lord of the celestials. Thereupon, that best of bestowers
gladly offered unto me half of his seat; and Vasava also with regard
touched my person. And, O Bharata, with the view of acquiring arms and
learning weapons, I began to dwell in heaven, together with the gods and
the Gandharvas of generous souls. And Viswavana's son, Chitrasena became
my friend. And he, O king, imparted unto me the entire Gandharva
(science). And, O monarch, I happily lived in Sakra's abode, well cared
for having all my desires gratified, learning weapons, listening to the
notes of songs, and the clear sounds of musical instruments, and
beholding the foremost of Apsaras dance. And without neglecting to study
the arts, which I learnt properly, my attention was specially fixed on
the acquisition of arms. And that lord of a thousand eyes was pleased
with that purpose of mine. Living thus in heaven, O king, I passed this
period.
"And when I had acquired proficiency in weapons, and gained his
confidence that one having for his vehicle the horse (Uchchaisrava),
(Indra), patting me on the head with his hand, said these words, 'Now
even the celestials themselves cannot conquer thee,--what shall I say of
imperfect mortals residing on earth? Thou hast become invulnerable in
strength, irrepressible, and incomparable in fight.' Then with the hair
of his body standing on end, he again accosted me saying, 'O hero, in
fighting with weapons none is equal unto thee. And, O perpetuator of the
Kuru race, you are even watchful, and dexterous, and truthful, and of
subdued senses, and the protector of the Brahmanas and adept in weapons,
and warlike. And, O Partha, together with (a knowledge of) the five
modes, using (them), you hast obtained five and ten weapons and,
therefore, there existeth none, who is your peer. And you hast perfectly
learnt the discharge (of those weapons) and (their) withdrawal, and
(their) re-discharge and re-withdrawal, and the Prayaschitta connected
(with them), and also their revival, in case of their being baffled. Now,
O represser of foes, the time hath arrived for your paying the preceptor's
fee. Do you promise to pay the fee; then I shall unfold unto you what
thou wilt have to perform.' Thereat, O king, I said unto the ruler of the
celestials, 'If it be in my power to do the work, do you consider it as
already accomplished by me.' O king, when I had said these words, Indra
with a smile said unto me 'Nothing is there in the three worlds that is
not in your power (to achieve) My enemies, those Danavas, named,
Nivata-Kavachas dwell in the womb of the ocean. And they number thirty
million and are notorious, and all of equal forms and strength and
splendour. Do you slay them there, O Kunti's son; and that will be thy
preceptor's fee.'
"Saying this he gave unto me the highly resplendent celestial car,
conducted by Matali, furnished with hair resembling the down of peacocks.
And on my head he set this excellent diadem. And he gave me ornaments for
my body, like unto his own. And he granted unto me the impenetrable
mail--the best of its kind, and easy to the touch; and fastened unto the
Gandiva this durable string. Then I set out, ascending that splendid
chariot riding on which in days of yore, the lord of the celestials and
vanquished Vali--that son of Virochana. And, O ruler of men, startled by
the rattling of the car, all the celestials, approached (there), taking
me to be the king of the celestials. And seeing me, they asked, 'O
Phalguna, what are you going to do?' And I told them as it had fallen
out,--and said, 'I shall even do this in battle. Ye that are highly
fortunate, know that I have set out desirous of slaying the
Nivata-Kavachas. O sinless ones, do the bless me.' Thereupon, they began
to eulogise me even as they (eulogise) the god, Purandara. And they said,
'Riding on this car, Maghavan conquered in battle Samvara, and Namuchi,
and Vala, and Vritra, and Prahrada, and Naraka. And mounted on this car
also Maghavan, had conquered in battle many thousands and millions and
hundreds of millions of Daityas. And, O Kaunteya, you also, riding on
this car, by your prowess shalt conquer the Nivatha-Kavachas in conflict,
even as did the self-possessed Maghavan in days of yore. And here is the
best of shells; by this also you shalt defeat the Danavas And by this it
is that the high souled Sakra conquered the words.' Saying this, the gods
offered (unto me) this shell, Devadatta, sprung in the deep; and I
accepted it for the sake of victory. And at this moment, the gods fell
extolling me. And in order to be engaged in action, I proceeded to the
dreadful abode of the Danavas, furnished with the shell, the mail, and
arrows, and taking my bow."
--------------------END OF PARVA 3 : UPA-PARVA 167 ---------------------
