SECTION LXXVIII
"Vaisampayana said, 'The irresistible wielder of Gandiva, addresst for
battle, stood immovable on the field like Himavat himself. The Saindhava
warriors, once more rallying, showered in great wrath repeated down-pours
of shifts on him. The mighty-armed hero, laughing at his foes, who had
once more rallied but who were on the point of death, addressed them in
these soft words,--'Do ye fight to the best of your power and do ye
endeavour to vanquish me. Do ye however, accomplish all necessary acts,
for a great danger awaits you all. See, I fight all of you, baffling your
clouds of arrows. Bent as you are on battle, tarry a little. I shall soon
quell your pride.' The wielder of Gandiva, having said these words in
wrath, recollected, however, the words, O Bharata, of his eldest brother.
Those words were,--'Thou shouldst not, O child, slay those Kshatriyas who
will come against thee for battle. They should, however, be vanquished by
thee. That foremost of men, Phalguna, had been thus addressed by king
Yudhishthira the just, of great soul. He, therefore, began to reflect in
this strain. 'Even thus was I commissioned by my brother. Warriors
advancing against me should not be slain. I must act in such a way as not
to falsify the words of king Yudhishthira the just.' Having arrived at
this conclusion, Phalguna, that foremost of men, then said unto those
Saindhavas who were all fierce in battle, these words:--'I say what is
for your benefit. Though staying before me. I do not wish to slay you. He
amongst you who will say unto me that he has been vanquished by me and
that he is mine, will be spared by me. Having heard these words of mine,
act towards me in that way which may best conduce to your benefit. By
acting in a different way you will place yourselves in a situation of
great fear and danger.' Having said these words unto those heroic
warriors the chief of the Kurus began to fight them. Arjuna was inflamed
with wrath. His foes, desirous of victory, were equally enraged. The
Saindhavas then, O king, shot hundreds and thousands of straight arrows
at the wielder of Gandiva. Dhananjaya, with his own whetted shafts, cut
off those arrows of sharp and terrible points, resembling snakes of
virulent poison, before they could come up to him. Having cut off those
sharp arrows equipt with Kanka feathers, Arjuna pierced each of the
warriors opposed to him with a whetted shaft. The Saindhava Kshatriyas,
recollecting that it was Dhananjaya who had slain their king Jayadratha,
then hurled at him darts and javelins with great force. The diadem-decked
Dhananjaya of great might baffled their intent by cutting off all those
weapons before any of them could reach him. At length the son of Pandu
became highly angry. With many straight and broad-headed arrows, he
felled the heads of many of those warriors who were rushing at him from
desire of victory. Many fled, many rushed at Arjuna; many moved not, all
of them, however, uttered such aloud noise (of wrath and grief) that it
resembled the roar of the ocean. As they were slain by Partha of
immeasurable might, they fought him, each according to his strength and
prowess. Their animals being all exhausted, Partha succeeded in depriving
a large number of those warriors of their senses by means of his sharpest
shafts in that battle. Then Dussala, their queen, the daughter of
Dhritarashtra, knowing that they were rendered cheerless by Arjuna, took
her grandson in her arms and repaired to Arjuna. The child was the son of
Suratha (the son of Jayadratha). The brave prince proceeded to his
maternal uncle on his car for the safety of all the Saindhava warriors.
The queen, arrived at the presence of Dhananjaya, began to weep in
sorrow. The puissant Dhananjaya, seeing her, cast off his bow. Abandoning
his bow, Partha duly received his sister and enquired of her as to what
he could do for her. The queen replied unto him, saying,--'O chief of the
Bharatas, this child is the son of thy sister's son. He salutes thee, O
Partha. Look at him, O foremost of men.' Thus addressed by her, Partha
enquired after his son (Suratha), saying--'Where is he?' Dussala then
answered him, saying,--'Burning with grief on account of the slaughter of
his sire, the heroic father of this child died in great affliction of
heart. Listen to me how he met with his death. 'O Dhananjaya, he had
heard before that his sire Jayadratha had been slain by thee, O sinless
one. Exceedingly afflicted with grief at this, and hearing of thy arrival
here as the follower and protector of the sacrificial horse, he at once
fell down and gave up his life-breaths. Verily, deeply afflicted with
grief as he was, as go on as he heard of thy arrival he gave up his life.
Seeing him prostrate on the Earth, O lord, I took his infant son with me
and have come to thee, desirous of thy protection.' Having said these
words, the daughter of Dhritarashtra began to lament in deep affliction.
Arjuna stood before her in great cheerlessness of heart. His face was
turned towards the Earth. The cheerless sister then said unto her
brother, who was equally cheerless, these words: 'Behold thy sister.
Behold the child of thy sister's son. O perpetuator of Kuru's race, O
thou that art fully conversant with every duty, it behoveth thee to show
mercy to this child, forgetting the Kuru prince (Duryodhana) and the
wicked Jayadratha. Even as that slayer of hostile heroes, Parikshit, has
been born of Abhimanyu, so has this mighty-armed child, my grandson,
sprung from Suratha. Taking him with me, O chief of men, I have come to
thee, desirous of the safety of all the warriors. Do thou listen to these
words of mine. This child of that wicked foe of thine hath now come to
thee, O mighty-armed hero. It behoveth thee, therefore to show mercy to
this infant. O chastiser of foes, this infant seeks to gratify thee by
bending his head. He solicits thee for peace. O mighty-armed hero, be
inclined to make peace. O thou that art conversant with every duty, be
thou gratified with the child whose friends and kinsmen have all been
slain and who himself knows nothing of what has happened. Do not yield to
wrath. Forgetting his disreputable and cruel grandfather, who offended
against thee so highly, it behoveth thee to show thy grace towards this
child.' Recollecting queen Gandhari and king Dhritarashtra, Dhananjaya,
afflicted with grief, addressed Dussala who had said so unto him, and
answered her, censuring Kshatriya practices the while. 'Fie on
Duryodhana, that mean wight, covetous of kingdom and full of vanity!
Alas, it was for him that all my kinsmen have been despatched by me to
the abode of Yama.' Having said so, Dhananjaya comforted his sister and
became inclined to make peace. Cheerfully he embraced her and then
dismissed her, telling her to return to her palace. Dussala bade all her
warriors desist from that great battle, and worshipping Partha, she of
beautiful face retraced her steps towards her abode. Having vanquished
those heroes, viz., the Saindhavas, thus, Dhananjaya began to follow that
steed which roved at its will. The heroic Arjuna duly followed that
sacrificial horse even as the divine wielder of Pinaka had in days of
yore followed the deer through the firmament.[193] The steed, at its
will, wandered through various realms one after another, enhancing the
feats of Arjuna. In course of time, O chief of men, the horse wandering
at its pleasure, at last arrived within the dominions of the ruler of
Manipura, followed by the son of Pandu.'"
