SECTION II
Bhima said, "I intend to present myself before the lord of Virata as a
cook bearing the name of Vallabha. I am skilled in culinary art, and I
shall prepare curries for the king, and excelling all those skilful cooks
that had hitherto dressed his food I shall gratify the monarch. And I
shall carry mighty loads of wood. And witnessing that mighty feat, the
monarch will be pleased. And, O Bharata, beholding such superhuman feats
of mine, the servants of the royal household will honour me as a king.
And I shall have entire control over all kinds of viands and drinks. And
commanded to subdue powerful elephants and mighty bulls, I will do as
bidden. And if any combatants will fight with me in the lists, then will
I vanquish them, and thereby entertain the monarch. But I shall not take
the life of any of them. I shall only bring them down in such way that
they may not be killed. And on being asked as regards my antecedent I
shall say that--Formerly I was the wrestler and cook of Yudhishthira.
Thus shall I, O king, maintain myself."
Yudhishthira said, "And what office will be performed by that mighty
descendant of the Kurus, Dhananjaya, the son of Kunti, that foremost of
men possessed of long arms, invincible in fight, and before whom, while
he was staying with Krishna, the divine Agni himself desirous of
consuming the forest of Khandava had formerly appeared in the guise of a
Brahmana? What office will be performed by that best of warriors, Arjuna,
who proceeded to that forest and gratified Agni, vanquishing on a single
car and slaying huge Nagas and Rakshasas, and who married the sister of
Vasuki himself, the king of the Nagas? Even as the sun is the foremost of
all heat-giving bodies, as the Brahmana is the best of all bipeds, as the
cobra is the foremost of all serpents, as Fire is the first of all things
possessed of energy, as the thunderbolt is the foremost of all weapons,
as the humped bull is the foremost of all animals of the bovine breed, as
the ocean is the foremost of all watery expanses, as clouds charged with
rain are the foremost of all clouds, as Ananta is the first of all Nagas,
as Airavata is the foremost of all elephants, as the son is the foremost
of all beloved objects, and lastly, as the wife is the best of all
friends, so, O Vrikodara, is the youthful Gudakesa, the foremost of all
bowmen. And O Bharata, what office will be performed by Vibhatsu, the
wielder of Gandiva, whose car is drawn by white horses, and who is not
inferior to Indra or Vasudeva Himself? What office will be performed by
Arjuna who, dwelling for five years in the abode of the thousand-eyed
Deity (Indra) shining in celestial lustre, acquired by his own energy the
science of superhuman arms with all celestial weapons, and whom I regard
as the tenth Rudra, the thirteenth Aditya, the ninth Vasu, and the tenth
Graha, whose arms, symmetrical and long, have the skin hardened by
constant strokes of the bowstring and cicatrices which resemble those on
the humps of bulls,--that foremost of warriors who is as Himavat among
mountains, the ocean among expanses of water, Sakra among the celestial,
Havya-vaha (fire) among the Vasus, the tiger among beasts, and Garuda
among feathery tribes!"
Arjuna replied, "O lord of the Earth, I will declare myself as one of the
neuter sex. O monarch, it is, indeed difficult to hide the marks of the
bowstring on my arms. I will, however, cover both my cicatrized arms with
bangles. Wearing brilliant rings on my ears and conch-bangles on my
wrists and causing a braid to hang down from my head, I shall, O king,
appear as one of the third sex, Brihannala by name. And living as a
female I shall (always) entertain the king and the inmates of the inner
apartments by reciting stories. And, O king, I shall also instruct the
women of Virata's palace in singing and delightful modes of dancing and
in musical instruments of diverse kinds. And I shall also recite the
various excellent acts of men and thus conceal myself, O son of Kunti, by
feigning disguise. And, O Bharata should the king enquire, I will say
that, I lived as a waiting maid of Draupadi in Yudhishthira's palace.
And, O foremost of kings, concealing myself by this means, as fire is
concealed by ashes, I shall pass my days agreeably in the palace of
Virata."
Vaisampayana continued, "Having said this, Arjuna, that best of men and
foremost of virtuous persons, became silent. Then the king addressed
another brother of his."[2]
--------------------END OF PARVA 4 : UPA-PARVA 2 ---------------------
