The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3: Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
General
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3: Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
Epic literature, Sanskrit
"'"The holy one said, 'If, indeed, ye have not the ability to bear half
of my might, then, endued with half of your united energy, I will slay
them.'
"'Duryodhana continued, "The celestials then, addressing the god of gods,
said 'So be it' O best of kings. Taking half of their energies from all
of them, he became superior in might. Indeed, in might that god became
superior to all in the universe. From that time Sankara came to be called
Mahadeva. And Mahadeva then said, 'Armed with bow and shaft, I will, from
my car, slay in battle those foes of yours, ye denizens of heaven.
Therefore, ye gods, see now to my car and bow and shaft so that I may,
this very day, throw the Asuras down on the Earth.'
"'"The gods said, 'Gathering all forms that may be found in the three
worlds and taking portions of each, we will each, O Lord of the gods,
construct a car of great energy for thee. It will be a large car, the
handiwork of Viswakarman, designed with intelligence.' Saying this, those
tigers among the gods began the construction of that car. And they made
Vishnu and Soma and Hutasana the arrow for Sankara's use. Agni became the
staff, and Soma became the head, and Vishnu the point, O king, of that
foremost of arrows. The goddess Earth, with her large cities and towns,
her mountains and forests and islands, that home of diverse creatures,
was made the car. The Mandara mountain was made its axle; and the great
river Ganga was made its Jangha; and the points of the compass, cardinal
and subsidiary became the ornaments of the car. The constellations became
its shaft; the Krita age became its yoke; and that best of Snakes, viz.,
Vasuki, became the Kuvara of that car. Himavat and Vindhya mountains
became its Apaskara and Adhishthana; and the Udaya and the Asta mountains
were made the wheels of that car by those foremost ones among the gods.
They made the excellent Ocean, that abode of the Danavas its other axle.
The seven Rishis became the protectors of the wheels of that car. Ganga
and Sarasvati and Sindhu and the Sky became its Dhura; all the other
rivers and all the waters became the chords for binding the several limbs
of that car. Day and Night and the other divisions of time such as Kalas
and Kasthas, and the Seasons became its Amukarsha. The blazing planets
and the stars became its wooden fence; Religion, Profit, and Pleasure,
united together, became its Trivenu. The herbs and the creepers, decked
with flowers and fruits, became its bells. Making the Sun and the Moon
equal, these were made the (other two) wheels of that foremost of cars.
Day and Night were made its auspicious wings on the right and left. The
ten foremost of snakes having Dhritarashtra for their first, all
exceedingly strong, formed the (other) shaft of that car. The Sky was
made its (other) yoke, and the clouds called Samvartaka and Valahaka were
the leathern strings of the yoke. The two Twilights and Dhritri and Medha
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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