SECTION LXXXI
"Arjuna said, 'What business brought thee here, O daughter (-in-law) of
Kuru's race, and what also is the cause of the arrival on the field of
battle of her who is the mother of the ruler of Manipura? Dost thou
entertain friendly motives towards this king, O daughter of a snake? O
thou of restless glances, dost thou wish good to me too? I hope, O thou
of ample hips, that neither I, nor this Vabhruvahana here, have, O
beautiful lady, done any injury to thee unconsciously? Has Chitrangada of
faultless limbs, descended from the race of Chitravahana, done thee any
wrong?' Unto him, the daughter of the prince of snakes answered
smilingly, 'Thou hast not offended me, nor has Vabhruvahana done me any
wrong; nor this prince's mother who is always obedient to me as a
hand-maid. Listen, how all this has been brought about by me. Thou
shouldst not be angry with me. Indeed, I seek to gratify thee by bending
my head in reverence. O thou of Kuru's race, all this has been done by me
for thy good, O puissant one. O mighty-armed Dhananjaya, hear all that I
have done. In the great battle of the Bharata princes, thou hadst slain
the royal son of Santanu by unrighteous ways. What I have done has
expiated thy sin. Thou didst not overthrow Bhishma while battling with
thee. He was engaged with Sikhandin. Relying on him as thy help, thou
didst compass the overthrow of Santanu's son. If thou hadst died without
having expiated thy sin, thou wouldst then have fallen without doubt into
Hell in consequence of that sinful act of thine. Even this which thou
hast got from thy son is the expiation of that sin. Formerly, O ruler of
Earth, I heard this said by the Vasus while they were in the company of
Ganga, O thou of great intelligence. After the fall of Santanu's son,
those deities, viz., the Vasus, coming to the banks of Ganga, bathed in
her waters, and calling the goddess of that stream, they uttered these
terrible words having the sanction of Bhagirathi herself,
viz.,--Santanu's son Bhishma has been slain by Dhananjaya. Verily, O
goddess, Bhishma then was engaged with another, and had ceased to fight.
For this fault we shall today denounce a curse on Dhananjaya.--To this,
the goddess Ganga readily assented, saying,--Be it so!--Hearing these
words I became very much afflicted and penetrating into the nether
regions represented everything to my sire. Informed of what had happened,
my sire became plunged in grief. Repairing to the Vasus, he solicited
them for thy sake, repeatedly gratifying them by every means in his
power. They then said unto him, 'Dhananjaya has a highly blessed son who,
endued with youth, is the ruler of Manipura. He will, standing on the
field of battle, cast Dhananjaya down on the Earth. When this will
happen, O prince of snakes, Arjuna will be freed from our curse. Do thou
go back.--Thus addressed by the Vasus, he came back and informed me of
what had happened. Having learnt all this, O hero, I have freed thee from
the curse of the Vasus even in this way. The chief of the deities himself
is incapable of vanquishing thee in battle. The son is one's own self. It
is for this that thou hast been vanquished by him. I cannot be held, O
puissant one, to have committed any fault. How, indeed, wouldst thou hold
me censurable?'--Thus addressed (by Ulupi), Vijaya became cheerful of
heart and said unto her, 'All this that thou hast done, O goddess, is
highly agreeable to me.' After this, Jaya addressed his son, the ruler of
Manipura, and said unto him in the hearing of Chitrangada, the daughter
(-in-law) of Kuru's house, the Horse-sacrifice of Yudhishthira will take
place on the day of full moon in the coming month of Chaitra. Come there,
O king, with thy mother and thy counsellors and officers.' Thus addressed
by Partha, king Vabhruvahana of great intelligence, with tearful eyes,
said these words to his sire, 'O thou that art conversant with every
duty, I shall certainly repair, at thy command, to the great
Horse-sacrifice, and take upon myself the task of distributing food among
the regenerate ones. For, however, showing thy grace towards me, thou
enter thy own city with thy two wives. Let no scruple, be thine as
regards this, O thou that art fully acquainted with every duty. O lord,
having lived for one night in thy own mansion in happiness, thou mayst
then follow the steed, O foremost of victorious warriors. The
ape-bannered son of Kunti, thus addressed by his son, answered the child
of Chitrangada, saying 'Thou knowest, O mighty-armed one, what vow I am
observing. O thou of large eyes, till the termination of this my vow, I
cannot enter thy city. O foremost of men, this sacrificial horse wanders
at will. (I have to follow it always.) Blessings on thee! I must go away.
Place I have none wherein to rest for even a short while.' The son of the
chastiser of Paka then, duly worshipped by his son and obtaining the
permission of his two wives, left the spot and proceeded on his way.'"
