SECTION L
"Dhritarashtra said, 'What did that Pandava king, the son of Dharma, say,
O Sanjaya, after hearing that a large force hath been assembled here for
gladdening us? How also is Yudhishthira acting, in view of the coming
strife, O Suta, who amongst his brothers and sons are looking up to his
face, desirous of receiving his orders? Provoked as he is by the
deceptions of my wicked sons, who, again, are dissuading that king of
virtuous behaviour and conversant with virtue, saying,--Have peace?'
"Sanjaya said, 'All the Panchalas, along with the other sons of Pandu,
are looking up to Yudhishthira's face, blessed be thou, and he too is
restraining them all. Multitudes of cars belonging to the Pandavas and
the Panchalas are coming in separate bodies for gladdening Yudhishthira,
the son of Kunti, ready to march to the field of battle. As the sky
brightens up at the advent of the rising sun, so the Panchalas are
rejoicing at their union with Kunti's son of blazing splendour, risen
like a flood of light. The Panchalas, the Kekayas, and the Matsyas, along
with the very herdsmen that attend on their kine and sheep, are rejoicing
and gladdening Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu. Brahmana and Kshatriya
girls and the very daughters of the Vaisyas, in large number, are coming
in playful mood for beholding Partha accounted in coat of mail.'
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Tell us, O Sanjaya, of the forces of
Dhrishtadyumna, as also of the Somakas, and of all others, with which the
Pandavas intend to fight with us.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus interrogated, in the midst of the Kurus
and in their very hall, the son of Gavalgana' became thoughtful for a
moment and seemed to draw repeatedly deep and long sights; and suddenly
he fell down in a swoon without any apparent reason. Then in that
assembly of kings, Vidura said loudly, 'Sanjaya, O great king, hath
fallen down on the ground senseless, and cannot utter a word, bereft of
sense and his intellect clouded.'
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Without doubt, Sanjaya, having seen those mighty
car-warriors, the sons of Kunti, hath his mind filled with great anxiety
in consequence of those tigers among men.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Having recovered consciousness, and being
comforted, Sanjaya addressed king Dhritarashtra in the midst of that
concourse of Kurus in that hall, saying, 'Indeed, O king of kings, I saw
those great warriors, the sons of Kunti, thinned in body, in consequence
of the restraint in which they had lived in the place of the king of the
Matsyas. Hear, O King, with whom the Pandavas will contend against you.
With that hero Dhrishtadyumna as their ally, they will fight against you.
With that personage of virtuous soul, who never forsaketh truth through
anger or fear, temptation, or for the sake of wealth, of disputation; and
who is, O King, a very authority in matters of religion, himself being
the best of those that practise virtue;--with him, who hath never made an
enemy, the sons of Pandu will fight against you.' He unto whom no one on
earth is equal in might of arms, and who, wielding his bow had brought
all kings under subjection, and who, vanquishing of old all the people of
Kasi and Anga and Magadha, as also the Kalingas;--with that Bhimasena
will the sons of Pandu fight against, you. Indeed, he through whose might
the four sons of Pandu quickly could alight on the earth, having issued
forth from the (burning) house of lac that son of Kunti, Vrikodara, who
became the means of their rescue from the cannibal Hidimva; that son of
Kunti, Vrikodara, who became their refuge when the daughter of Yajnasena
was being carried away by Jayadratha; indeed, with that Bhima. who
rescued the assembled Pandavas from the conflagration at Varanavata; even
with him (as their ally) will they fight against you. He, who for the
gratification of Krishna slew the Krodhavasas, having penetrated the
rugged and terrible mountains of Gandhamadana, he to whose arms hath been
imparted the might of ten thousand elephants; with that Bhimasena (as
their ally) the Pandavas will fight against you. That hero, who, for the
gratification of Agni, with Krishna only for his second, bravely
vanquished of yore Purandara in fight; he who gratified by combat that
God of gods, the trident-bearing lord of Uma--Mahadeva himself having the
mountains for his abode; that foremost of warriors who subjugated all the
kings of the earth--with that Vijaya (as their ally) the Pandavas will
encounter you in battle. That wonderful warrior Nakula, who vanquished
the whole of the western world teeming with Mlechchas, is present in the
Pandava camp. With that handsome hero, that unrivalled bowman, that son
of Madri, O Kauravya, the Pandavas will fight against you. He who
vanquished in battle the warriors of Kasi, Anga, and Kalinga,--with that
Sahadeva will the Pandavas encounter you in battle. He, who in energy
hath for his equals only four men on earth, viz., Aswatthaman and
Dhrishtaketu and Rukmi and Pradyumna,--with that Sahadeva, youngest in
years, that hero among men, that gladdener of Madri's heart, with him, O
King, will you have a destructive battle. She, who, while living of yore
as the daughter of the king of Kasi, had practised the austerest
penances; she, who, O bull of the Bharata race, desiring even in a
subsequent life to compass the destruction of Bhishma, took her birth as
the daughter of Panchala, and accidentally became afterwards a male; who,
O tiger among men, is conversant with the merits and demerits of both
sexes; that invincible prince of the Panchala who encountered the
Kalingas in battle, with what Sikhandin skilled in every weapon, will the
Pandavas fight against you. She whom a Yaksha for Bhishma's destruction
metamorphosed into a male, with that formidable bowman will the Pandavas
fight against you. With those mighty bowmen, all, brothers those five
Kekaya princes, with those heroes clad in mail will the Pandavas fight
against you. With that warrior of long arms: endued with great activity
in the use of weapons, possessed of intelligence and prowess incapable of
being baffled, with that Yuyudhana, the lion of the Vrishni race, will
you have to fight. He, who had been the refuge of the high-souled
Pandavas for a time, with that Virata, will the have an encounter in
battle. The lord of Kasi, that mighty car-warrior who ruleth in Varanasi
hath become an ally of theirs; with him the Pandavas will fight against
you. The high-souled sons of Draupadi, tender in years but invincible in
battle, and unapproachable like snakes of virulent poison, with them,
will the Pandavas fight against you. He, that in energy is like unto
Krishna and in self-restraint unto Yudhishthira, with that Abhimanyu,
will the Pandavas fight against you. That war-like son of Sisupala,
Dhrishtaketu of great fame, who in energy is beyond comparison and who
when angry is incapable of being withstood in battle, with that king of
the Chedis who has joined the Pandavas at the head of an Akshauhini of
his own, will the sons of Pandu fight against you. He that is the refuge
of the Pandavas, even as Vasava is of the celestials, with that Vasudeva,
the Pandavas will fight against you. He also, O bull of Bharata race,
Sarabha the brother of the king of the Chedis, who again is united with
Karakarsa, with both these, the Pandavas will fight against you.
Sahadeva, the son of Jarasandha, and Jayatsena, both unrivalled heroes in
battle, are resolved upon fighting for the Pandavas. And Drupada too,
possessed of great might, and followed by a large force, and reckless of
his life, is resolved to fight for the Pandavas. Relying upon these and
other kings by hundreds, of both the eastern and northern countries, king
Yudhishthira the just, is prepared for battle.'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 5 : UPA-PARVA 50 ---------------------
