‘“O king! Matali smiled and told me, ‘O Arjuna! The valour exhibited by you is not seen even among the gods.’ With masses of asuras having been slain, their wives began to lament in the city, like cranes during the autumn. Accompanied by Matali, I entered the city, terrifying the nivatakavacha women with the roar of the chariot. On seeing the tens of thousands of horses, like peacocks, and the chariot that blazed like the sun, masses of women began to flee. The sounds that those terrified women made with their ornaments was like that of hail descending on a mountain. The frightened daitya women entered their houses, made of gold and decorated with many beautiful gems. On seeing that supreme and wonderful city, superior to the city of the gods, I asked Matali, ‘Why do the gods not live in this wonderful place? I think that it surpasses Purandara’s city.’ Matali replied, ‘O Partha! This was earlier the city of the gods. But the gods were expelled from here by the nivatakavachas. They obtained the grandfather’s favours through great and terrible austerities and obtained the boon that they should live here, free from all fear of the gods in battle. Then Shakra resorted to the illustrious one who creates himself198 and said, “O illustrious one! Bearing our welfare in mind, you decide what is appropriate in this case.” The illustrious one told Vasava what had been destined in this matter. “O slayer of Vritra! You yourself will assume another body and kill them.”199 Therefore, Shakra gave you weapons for their destruction. Even the gods could not kill the ones you have now slain. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You arrived here when the time was right for their end and you have accomplished the task. O Indra among men! Mahendra conferred on you the supreme power of those supreme weapons for the destruction of the danavas.’ Having killed the danavas and entering their city, I returned to the abode of the gods, together with Matali.”’
467(170)
‘Arjuna said, “While I was returning, I saw another great city. It was divine, as resplendent as the fire and the sun, and it could roam as it wished. It had trees that were covered with jewels, with colourful birds that had sweet voices. It was inhabited by Poulamas and Kalakeyas who were always happy.200 It was impregnable, with turrets, entrances and four gates. It was covered with jewels everywhere and was celestial and wonderful to see. There were trees with flowers and fruit, covered everywhere with divine gems. There were extremely beautiful celestial birds. It was filled everywhere with asuras who were always happy, armed with weapons like spears, swords, clubs, bows and maces in their hands. O king! On seeing this extraordinary city of the daityas, I asked Matali, ‘What is this that I see here?’
‘“Matali replied, ‘There was once a daitya lady named Puloma and another great asura lady named Kalaka. They observed supreme austerities for one thousand celestial years. When they had completed the austerities, the one who created himself201 granted them a boon. O Indra among kings! They chose the boon that their sons should not suffer much and should be incapable of being killed by the gods, the rakshasas and the serpents. This beautiful city that roams in the sky is the result of those good deeds. It is full of jewels everywhere and is incapable of being conquered even by the gods, the yakshas, the masses of gandharvas, the serpents, the asuras and the rakshasas. It contains all the objects of desire and qualities and is devoid of sorrow and disease. O best of the Bharata lineage! This was created for the Kalakeyas by Brahma. This is the divine city that is roaming around in the sky, avoided by the immortals. O brave one! It is inhabited by the Poulama and Kalakeya danavas. This great city is known by the name of Hiranyapura.202 It is protected by the great Kalakeya and Poulama asuras. They are always happy there and cannot be killed by all the gods. O Indra among kings! They always live here happily, devoid of anxiety and with nothing left to ask for. It was earlier destined by Brahma that they would die at the hands of a human.’”
‘Arjuna said, “O lord! Having learnt that they could not be slain by the gods and the asuras, I happily told Matali, ‘Go swiftly to that city. I will use my weapons to destroy those who hate the thirty gods. There are no evil haters of the gods who do not deserve to be slain by me.’ In that divine chariot, yoked to tawny horses, Matali swiftly conveyed me to the city of Hiranyapura. On seeing me, Diti’s sons, adorned in colourful garments and ornaments, mounted their chariots and hastened at great speed. The chiefs of the danavas, terrible in valour, angrily attacked me with darts,203 iron arrows, missiles,204 spears, cudgels and clubs. I warded off this great shower of weapons. O king! Resorting to the strength of my knowledge, I unleashed a great shower of arrows. In that battle, I confounded all of them through the course of my chariot. Completely confounded, the danavas fell down on one another. They were so confounded that they rushed at each other. I sliced off their heads with hundreds of blazing arrows. Thus slaughtered by me, the daityas resorted to their city again. Using the power of maya that danavas possess, they rose up into the sky with their city. I restrained them with a great shower of arrows. I blocked the path of the daityas and restrained their movement. But the daityas were supported by their boon. With ease, that celestial city, divine in radiance and capable of going anywhere at will, remained suspended in the sky. It would suddenly plunge into the ground, then be established up in the sky again. It would swiftly adopt a diagonal movement and immerse itself in the waters. O lord of men! That giant city, capable of going anywhere at will, was like Amaravati. I attacked it with many types of weapons. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Then I subdued the daityas, together with the city, with a net of arrows invoked with divine weapons. O king! It was wounded through the straight and iron arrows shot by me. The city of the asuras was destroyed and fell down on the ground. O king! Pierced by my iron arrows, as swift as the vajra, and driven by destiny, the asuras roamed around. Matali swiftly descended on the ground in that chariot, as radiant as the sun, as if taking a forward leap. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Wishing to fight with me, those indomitable ones surrounded me with sixty thousand chariots. But I destroyed them with sharp arrows that had feathers of vultures as plumes. Thus vanquished in battle, they retreated like the waves of the ocean. Thinking that no man was capable of defeating them in battle, I discharged all my other weapons, one after the other.205 But slowly, my divine weapons, and the thousands of chariots of those skilled warriors, neutralized each other. The maharathas roamed around, in different manoeuvres of their chariots. They could be seen in hundreds and thousands. They were adorned in colourful crowns and garlands for the head and dazzling armour and flags. With many beautiful ornaments, they delighted my mind.
‘“In that battle, with all my showers of arrows, I was not able to oppress them. But they oppressed me. Thus hard-pressed by many who were accomplished in weapons and were skilled warriors, I felt pain in that great battle. A great fear took hold of me. In the battle, I bowed down to Rudra, god of the gods. Saying, ‘May there be welfare to all beings,’ I used the great weapon famous by the name of roudra, capable of destroying all enemies. I then saw a man with three heads, nine eyes, three faces and six arms, with hair blazing like the sun and the fire.206 O scorcher of enemies! There were giant serpents with flaming tongues on his head. O bull among the Bharata lineage! On beholding that terrible and eternal roudra weapon, I lost my fear and attached it to Gandiva. I bowed in obeisance to the three-eyed and infinitely energetic Sharva.207 O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I discharged it, to defeat the lords of the danavas. O lord of the earth! As soon as I discharged it, it assumed thousands of different forms everywhere—deer, lions, tigers, bears, buffaloes, serpents, cattle, elephants, marsh-deer, sharabhas, bulls, boars, cats, hyenas, ghosts, bhurundas,208 vultures, garudas, sharks,209 pishachas, yakshas, haters of gods, guhyakas, nairritas, large fish with mouths like elephants, owls and masses of fish and tortoises, all brandishing many kinds of weapons and swords. There were yatudhanas,210 wielding clubs and maces. There were many other beings in different forms. They filled up the universe when that weapon was discharged. Those many different forms—with three heads, four tusks, four faces and four arm
s—devoured the flesh, fat and marrow of the danavas. They continuously killed the ones who had gathered there. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In an instant, I also killed the danavas with arrows that were destructive of enemies, as hard as the vajra and as radiant as lightning, blazing like the sun and the fire.
‘“On seeing them destroyed through weapons shot from Gandiva, deprived of life and hurled down from the sky, I once again bowed to the god who destroyed Tripura.211 On seeing that they had been destroyed, with all their celestial ornaments, shattered by the roudra weapon, the charioteer of the gods was extremely delighted. On seeing that I had performed a task that was impossible even for the gods, Matali, Shakra’s charioteer, worshipped me. He joined his hands in salutation and said in a happy voice, ‘The task that you have accomplished was impossible for the gods and the asuras. Even the lord of the gods could not have achieved this in battle. This great city that roamed around in the sky could not have been destroyed by the gods and the asuras. O brave one! You have vanquished it through the strength of your own valour, weapons and austerities.’ When the city had been destroyed and the danavas killed, all the lamenting women emerged from the city. They were smitten by grief, their hair was dishevelled and they were miserable like ospreys. They threw themselves down on the ground, sorrowing over their sons, fathers and husbands. In miserable tones, they loudly grieved over their dead lords. They beat their breasts with their hands and the garlands and ornaments were thrown away. The city of the danavas was overcome with sorrow, misery and distress. It had lost all its splendour and all its lords had been slain. It was no longer radiant. Like a city of the gandharvas, like a pond deserted by elephants and like a forest that is full of dry trees, that city disappeared.
‘“With a happy mind, Matali quickly took me from the field of battle to the abode of the king of the gods. I had accomplished my task. I had destroyed Hiranyapura and killed the great asuras and the nivatakavachas. I returned to Shakra. O immensely radiant one! Matali recounted my deeds in detail to the Indra of the gods, completely and exactly as it had happened—the destruction of Hiranyapura, the use of maya, the way it was repulsed and the slaying of the immensely powerful nivatakavachas in battle. On hearing this, the illustrious Purandara, the one with the thousand eyes, was delighted. In the midst of the Maruts, he spoke words like, ‘Wonderful’ and ‘Well done’. Together with the other gods, the king of the gods repeatedly congratulated me and spoke these gentle words. ‘In battle, you have accomplished a deed that was impossible for the gods and the asuras. O Partha! By slaying my enemies, you have paid a great preceptor’s fee. O Dhananjaya! You will always remain as steady in battle. You will know what has to be done and will not be confounded in using these weapons. The gods, the danavas, the rakshasas, the yakshas, the asuras and the gandharvas, together with masses of birds and serpents, will not be able to withstand you in battle. O Kounteya! Through the strength of your arms, Kunti’s son, Yudhishthira, with dharma in his soul, will conquer the earth and protect it.’”’
468(171)
‘Arjuna said, “At some point, on seeing that I had recovered from the wounds of the arrows and was comfortable, the king of the gods told me, ‘O descendant of the Bharata lineage! All the divine weapons are yours now. There is no man on earth who is capable of vanquishing you. O son! When you are engaged in the field of battle, Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Karna and Shakuni, together with all the other kings, are not worth one-sixteenth of you.’212 The lord Maghavan then gave me this divine and impenetrable armour and a golden garland. He also gave me the conch shell Devadatta, which emits a great sound. Indra himself fixed this celestial diadem on my head. Shakra then gave me these divine garments and celestial ornaments, beautiful and many in number. O king! Thus honoured, I lived happily in Indra’s abode, together with the children of the gandharvas. Extremely pleased with me, Shakra, together with the immortals, told me, ‘O Arjuna! The time for your departure has come. Your brothers are remembering you.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O king! Thus did I spend five years in Indra’s abode, remembering the discord that was brought on us because of the gambling. Then, when you came to Mount Gandhamadana, I saw you on the peak, surrounded by your brothers.”
‘Yudhishthira replied, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O Dhananjaya! You have obtained those weapons through good fortune. It is also through good fortune that you satisfied the king and the lord who is the king of the gods. O scorcher of enemies! O unblemished one! It is through good fortune that you beheld the lord Sthanu himself, together with the goddess, and satisfied him in the duel.213 O bull among the Bharata lineage! It is through good fortune that you managed to meet the lokapalas. It is through good fortune that all of us have prospered and have set our eyes on you again. I now think that we have conquered the goddess earth, with her garland of cities, and have vanquished the sons of Dhritarashtra. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! But I wish to see those divine weapons with which you killed the valorous nivatakavachas.”
‘Arjuna said, “When it is dawn tomorrow, you will see all those divine weapons with which I destroyed the terrible nivatakavachas.”’
Vaishampayana said, ‘Having thus recounted the incidents connected with his return, Dhananjaya spent the night there, together with his brothers.’
469(172)
Vaishampayana said, ‘When the night had passed, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira awoke and performed the necessary rituals, together with his brothers. Then he told Arjuna, the beloved of his brothers. “O Kounteya! Show us the weapons with which you destroyed the danavas.” O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Then the immensely energetic Pandava Dhananjaya showed the celestial weapons that had been given by the gods, in due order, and after establishing himself in supreme purity. The earth was like his chariot and the radiant Dhananjaya seated himself on that. The trees on the mountain were like its axles and the beautiful bamboos like the spokes. He looked resplendent in his bright armour. He grasped the bow Gandiva and the conch shell Devadatta, born from the waters. In that radiance, mighty-armed Kounteya prepared to show those divine weapons, one after the other.
‘As he got ready to employ those divine weapons, the earth and all its trees began to tremble under his feet. The rivers and the great ocean began to tremble. The mountains were rent asunder. The winds stopped blowing. The one with the thousand rays214 stopped shining. The fires stopped burning. The Vedas were no longer manifest to those who were twice-born.215 O Janamejaya! The beings that lived in the interiors of the earth were oppressed. All of them trembled and emerged. Covering their faces, they joined their hands in salutation and surrounded Pandava. Burnt by those weapons, they prayed to Dhananjaya. The brahmarshis, the siddhas, the maharshis and all mobile beings stood there. So did supreme rajarshis, gods, yakshas, rakshasas, gandharvas and birds. The grandfather216 himself arrived, together with all the lokapalas, and the illustrious Mahadeva, with all his companions. O great king! Vayu covered Pandava with colourful, fragrant and divine flowers from every side. Instructed by the gods, the gandharvas sung many songs. O king! Masses of apsaras began to dance there. At that tumultuous time, instructed by the gods, Narada arrived. O king! He spoke these words, worthy of hearing, to Partha. “O Arjuna! O Arjuna! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Do not discharge these divine weapons. They should never be used when there is no target. Even when there is a target, one should not use them unless one is hard-pressed. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Such a use of these weapons is a great sin. O Dhananjaya! If these weapons are properly preserved, as you have been taught, there is no doubt that they will lead to great happiness. O Pandava! But if they are not preserved well, they will lead to the destruction of the three worlds. Therefore, never attempt this again. O Ajatashatru!217 You will behold the weapons when Partha uses them in battle for the destruction of the enemies.” O bull among men! After having restrained Partha, all the gods, and all the others who had assembled there, departed the way they had come. O Kouravya!218 When they had left, the Pand
avas, together with Krishna, began to live happily in that forest.’
Section Thirty-Six
Ajagara Parva
This parva has 201 shlokas and six chapters.
Chapter 470(173): 22 shlokas
Chapter 471(174): 24 shlokas
Chapter 472(175): 21 shlokas
Chapter 473(176): 51 shlokas
Chapter 474(177): 33 shlokas
Chapter 475(178): 50 shlokas
Ajagara means a boa constrictor, literally something that swallows a goat (aja). The Pandavas retrace their steps to Vrishaparva’s hermitage and Badari and then go to visit King Subahu. From there, they go to the origins of the Yamuna and Dvaitavana, on the banks of the Sarasvati. Bhima is then grasped by Nahusha in the form of a boa and this is why this section is called Ajagara Parva. The highlight of this section is a dialogue between Yudhishthira and Nahusha, in the form of a boa.
470(173)
Janamejaya asked, ‘When that great charioteer, skilled in weapons, returned from the abode of Vritra’s slayer, what did the Parthas accomplish next, now that they had been rejoined by the brave Dhananjaya?’
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