Vaisampayana said, "Beholding that bull among men seated on the car in
the habit of a person of the third sex, driving toward the _Sami_ tree,
having taken (the flying) Uttara up, all the great car-warriors of the
Kurus with Bhishma and Drona at their head, became affrighted at heart,
suspecting the comer to be Dhananjaya. And seeing them so dispirited and
marking also the many wonderful portents, that foremost of all wielders
of arms, the preceptor Drona, son of Bharadwaja, said, 'Violent and hot
are the winds that below, showering gravels in profusion. The sky also
is overcast with a gloom of ashy hue. The clouds present the strange
sight of being dry and waterless. Our weapons also of various kinds are
coming out of their cases. The jackals are yelling hideously affrighted
at the conflagrations on all sides.[41] The horses too are shedding
tears, and our banners are trembling though moved by none. Such being
the inauspicious indications seen, a great danger is at hand. Stay ye
with vigilance. Protect ye your own selves and array the troops in order
of battle. Stand ye, expecting a terrible slaughter, and guard ye well
the kine. This mighty bowman, this foremost of all wielders of weapons,
this hero that hath come in the habit of a person of the third sex, is
the son of Pritha. There is no doubt of this.' Then addressing Bhishma,
the preceptor continued, 'O offspring of the Ganges, apparelled as a
woman, this is _Kiriti_ called after a tree, the son of the enemy of the
mountains, and having on his banner the sign of devastator of the
gardens of Lanka's lord. Vanquishing us he will surely take away the
kine today![42] This chastiser of foes is the valiant son of Pritha
surnamed _Savyasachin_. He doth not desist from conflict even with the
gods and demons combined. Put to great hardship in the forest he cometh
in wrath. Taught by even Indra himself, he is like unto Indra in battle.
Therefore, ye Kauravas, I do not see any hero who can withstand him. It
is said that the lord _Mahadeva_ himself, disguised in the attire of a
hunter, was gratified by this son of Pritha in battle on the mountains
of Himavat.' Hearing these words, Karna said, 'You always censure us by
speaking on the virtues of _Phalguna_. Arjuna, however, is not equal to
even a full sixteenth part of myself or Duryodhana!' And Duryodhana
said, 'If this be Partha, O Radheya, then my purpose hath already been
fulfilled, for then, O king, if traced out, the Pandavas shall have to
wander for twelve years again. Or, if this one be any other person in a
eunuch's garb, I will soon prostrate him on the earth with keen-edged
arrows.'"
[41] Some texts read _Diptasya_ for _Diptayam_.
[42] This sloka does not occur in every text. This is a typical
illustration of the round about way, frequently adopted by
Sanskrit writers, of expressing a simple truth. The excuse in
the present instance consists in Drona's unwillingness to
identify the solitary hero with Arjuna, in the midst of all his
hearers. Nadiji is an exclamation referring to Bhishma, the son
of the river Ganga. _Lankesa-vanari-ketu_ is simply
'ape-bannered,' or as rendered in the text, having the
devastator of the gardens of Lanka's lord for the sign of his
banner. Nagahvaya is 'named after tree' for Arjuna is the name
of an Indian tree. Nagri-sunu is 'Indra's son',--Indra being the
foe of mountain, for formerly it was he who cut off the wings of
all mountains and compelled them to be stationary. He failed
only in the case of Mainaka, the son of Himavat.
Vaisampayana continued, "The son of Dhritarashtra, O chastiser of foes,
having said this, Bhishma and Drona and Kripa and Drona's son all
applauded his manliness!"