Vaisampayana said, "When the king of the Matsyas, anxious of recovering
the kine, had set out in pursuit of the Trigartas, Duryodhana with his
counsellors invaded the dominions of Virata. And Bhishma and Drona, and
Karna, and Kripa acquainted with the best of weapons, Aswatthaman, and
Suvala's son, and Duhsasana, O lord of men, and Vivingsati and Vikarna
and Chitrasena endued with great energy, and Durmukha and
Dussaha,--these and many other great warriors, coming upon the Matsya
dominion speedily drove off the cowherds of king Virata and forcibly
took away the kine. And the Kauravas, surrounding all sides with a
multitude of cars, seized sixty thousands of kine. And loud was the yell
of woe set up by the cowherds smitten by those warriors in that terrible
conflict. And the chief of the cowherds, greatly affrighted speedily
mounted on a chariot and set out for the city, bewailing in affliction.
And entering the city of the king, he proceeded to the place, and
speedily alighting from the chariot, got in for relating (what had
happened). And beholding the proud son of Matsya, named Bhuminjaya, he
told him everything about the seizure of the royal kine. And he said,
'the Kauravas are taking away sixty thousand kine. Rise, therefore, O
enhancer of the kingdom's glory, for bringing back thy cattle. O prince,
if thou art desirous of achieving (the kingdom's) good set out thyself
without loss of time. Indeed, the king of the Matsyas left thee in the
empty city. The king (thy father) boasteth of thee in court, saying, "My
son, equal unto me, is a hero and is the supporter of (the glory of) my
race. My son is a warrior skilled in arrows and weapons and is always
possessed of great courage."--Oh, let the words of that lord of men be
true! O chief of herd-owners, bring thou back the kine after vanquishing
the Kurus, and consume thou their troops with the terrific energy of thy
arrows. Do thou like a leader of elephants rushing at a herd, pierce the
ranks of the foe with straight arrows of golden wings, discharged from
thy bow. Thy bow is even like a _Vina_. Its two ends represent the ivory
pillows; its string, the main chord; its staff, the finger-board; and
the arrows shot from it musical notes. Do thou strike in the midst of
the foe that _Vina_ of musical sound.[34] Let thy steeds, O lord, of
silvery hue, be yoked unto thy car, and let thy standard be hoisted,
bearing the emblem of the golden lion. Let thy keen-edged arrows endued
with wings of gold, shot by thy strong arms, obstruct the path of those
kings and eclipse the very sun. Vanquishing all the Kurus in battle like
unto the wielder of the thunderbolt defeating the _Asuras_, return thou
again to the city having achieved great renown. Son of Matsya's king,
thou art the sole refuge of this kingdom, as that foremost of virtuous
warriors, Arjuna is of the sons of Pandu. Even like Arjuna of his
brothers, thou art, without doubt, the refuge of those dwelling within
these dominions. Indeed, we, the subject of this realm, have our
protector in thee.'"
[34] To understand the comparison would require in the reader a
knowledge of the mechanism of the Indian Vina. Briefly, the Vina
consists of a bamboo of about two cubits attached to two gourds
towards its ends. Along the bamboo which serves the purpose of a
finger-board, is the main chord and several thinner wires. All
these pass over a number of frets, two and a half heptachords,
representing the total compass of the instrument. The wires rest
towards their ends on two pieces of ivory called Upadhanas in
Sanskrit or Swaris in Urdu.
Vaisampayana continued, "Thus addressed by the cowherd in the presence
of the females, in words breathing courage, the prince indulging in
self-commendation within the female apartments, spoke these words."