The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Virata Parva
Religion
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Virata Parva
Epic literature, Sanskrit
Vaisampayana said, "Having defeated Vikartana's son, Arjuna said unto
the son of Virata, 'Take me towards that division where yonder device of
a golden palmyra is seen. There our grandfather, Santanu's son, like
unto a celestial, waiteth, desirous of an encounter with me.' Thereupon,
beholding that mighty host thronged with cars and horses and elephants,
Uttara, sorely pierced with arrows, said, 'O hero, I am no longer able
to guide thy excellent steeds. My spirits droop and my mind is
exceedingly bewildered. All the directions seem to be whirling before my
eyes in consequence of the energy of the celestial weapons used by thee
and the Kurus. I have been deprived of my senses by the stench of fat
and blood and flesh. Beholding all this, from terror my mind is, as it
were, cleft in twain. Never before had I beheld such a muster of horses
in battle. And at the flapping of fences, and the blare of conchs, the
leonine roars made by the warriors and the shrieks of elephants, and the
twang of the _Gandiva_ resembling the thunder, I have, O hero, been so
stupefied that I have been deprived of both hearing and memory. And, O
hero, beholding thee incessantly drawing to a circle, in course of the
conflict, the _Gandiva_ which resembleth a circle of fire, my sight
faileth me and my heart is rent asunder. And seeing thy fierce form in
battle, like that of the wielder of the _Pinaka_ while inflamed with
wrath, and looking also at the terrible arrows shot by thee, I am filled
with fear. I fail to see when thou takest up thy excellent arrows, when
thou fixest them on the bow-string, and when thou lettest them off. And
though all this is done before my eyes, yet, deprived of my senses, I do
not see it. My spirits are drooping and earth itself seems to be
swimming before me. I have no strength to hold the whip and the reins.'
Hearing these words, Arjuna said, 'Do thou not fear. Assure thyself.
Thou also hast, on the field of battle performed, O bull among men,
wonderful feats. Blessed be thou, thou art a prince and born in the
illustrious line of Matsyas. It behoveth thee not to feel dispirited in
chastising thy foes. Therefore, O prince, stationed on my car, muster
all thy fortitude and hold the reins of my steeds, O slayer of foes,
when I once more become engaged in battle.'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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