"Uttara said, 'O hero, mounting on this large car with myself as driver,
which division of the (hostile) army wouldst thou penetrate? Commanded
by thee, I would drive thee thither.'
"Arjuna said, 'I am pleased with thee, O tiger among men. Thou hast no
cause of fear. I will rout all thy foes in battle, O great warrior, And,
O thou of mighty arms, be at thy ease. Accomplishing great and terrible
feats in the melee, I will fight with thy foes. Tie quickly all those
quivers to my car, and take (from among those) a sword of polished blade
and adorned with gold.'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Hearing these words of Arjuna, Uttara cast off
all inactivity. And he speedily alighted from the tree, bringing with
him Arjuna's weapons. Then Arjuna addressed him, saying, 'Yes, I will
fight with the Kurus and recover thy kine. Protected by me, the top of
this car will be to thee as a citadel. The passages and alleys and other
divisions of this car will be the streets and edifices of that fortified
city. These my arms will be its ramparts and gateways. This treble pole
and my quiver will constitute defensive works inaccessible to the foe.
This my banner--single and grand--will it not alone be equal unto those
of thy city? This my bow-string will constitute the catapults and
cannons for vomiting forth missiles on the besieging host. My excited
wrath will make that fortress formidable, and the clatter of my
car-wheels--will it not resemble the kettle-drums of thy capital? Ridden
by myself wielding the _Gandiva_, this car will be incapable of being
vanquished by the hostile host, O son of Virata, let thy fear be
dispelled.'
"Uttara said, 'I am no longer afraid of these. I know thy steadiness in
battle, which is even like unto that of Kesava or Indra himself. But
reflecting on this, I am continually bewildered. Foolish as I am, I am
incapable of arriving at certain conclusion. By what distressful
circumstances could _a person of such handsome limbs and auspicious
signs become deprived of manhood_! Indeed, thou seemest to me to be
Mahadeva, or Indra, or the chief of the Gandharvas, dwelling in the
guise only of one of the third sex.'
"Arjuna said, 'I tell thee truly that I am only observing this vow for a
whole year agreeable to the behest of my elder brother. O thou of mighty
arms, I am not truly one of the neuter sex, but I have adopted this vow
of eunuchism from subservience to another's will and from desire of
religious merit. O prince, know me now to have completed my vow.'
"Uttara said, 'Thou hast conferred a great favour on me today, for I now
find that my suspicion was not altogether unfounded. Indeed, such a
person as thou, O best of men, cannot be of the neuter sex. I have now
an ally in battle. I can now fight with the celestials themselves. My
fears have been dispelled. What shall I do? Command me now. Trained in
driving cars by a learned preceptor I will, O bull among men, hold the
reins of thy horses that are capable of breaking the ranks of hostile
cars. Know me, O bull among men, to be as competent a charioteer as
Daruka of Vasudeva, or Matali of Sakra. The horse that is yoked unto the
right-hand pole (of thy car) and whose hoofs as they light on the ground
are scarcely visible when running, is like unto _Sugriva_ of Krishna.
This other handsome horse, the foremost of his race, that is yoked unto
the left pole, is, I regard, equal in speed to _Meghapushpa_. This
(third) beautiful horse, clad in golden mail, yoked unto the rear-pole
on the left, is, I regard, _Sivya_ equal in speed to but superior in
strength. And this (fourth) horse, yoked to the rear-pole on the right,
is regarded as superior to _Valahaka_ in speed and strength. This car is
worthy of bearing on the field of battle a bowman like thee, and thou
also art worthy of fighting on this car. This is what I think!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Then Arjuna, endued with great energy, took off
the bracelets from his arms and wore on his hands a pair of beautiful
gloves embroidered with gold. And he then tied his black and curling
locks with a piece of white cloth. And seated on that excellent car with
face turned to the east, the mighty-armed hero, purifying his body and
concentrating his soul, recalled to his mind all his weapons. And all
the weapons came, and addressing the royal son of Partha, said, 'We are
here, O illustrious one. We are thy servants, O son of Indra.' And
bowing unto them, Partha received them unto his hands and replied unto
them, saying, 'Dwell ye all in my memory.' And obtaining all his
weapons, the hero looked cheerful. And quickly stringing his bow, the
_Gandiva_, he twanged it. And the twang of that bow was as loud as the
collision of two mighty bulls. And dreadful was the sound that filled
the earth, and violent was the wind that blew on all sides. And thick
was the shower of fallen meteors[50] and all sides were enveloped in
gloom. And the birds began to totter in the skies and large trees began
to shake.[51] And loud as the burst of the thunder, the Kurus knew from
that sound that it was Arjuna that drew with his hands the string of his
best of bows from his car. And Uttara said, 'Thou, O best of Pandavas,
art alone. These mighty car-warriors are many. How wilt thou vanquish in
battle all these that are skilled in every kind of weapon? Thou, O son
of Kunti, art without a follower, while the Kauravas have many. It is
for this, O thou of mighty arms, that I stay beside thee, stricken with
fear.' Bursting out into loud laughter, Partha said unto him, 'Be not
afraid, O hero, what friendly follower had I while fighting with the
mighty _Gandharvas_ on the occasion of the _Ghoshayatra_? Who was my
ally while engaged in the terrific conflict at _Khandava_ against so
many celestials and _Danavas_? Who was my ally when I fought, on behalf
of the lord of the celestials against the mighty _Nivatakavachas_ and
the _Paulomas_! And who was my ally, O child, while I encountered in
battle innumerable kings at the _Swayamvara_ to the princess of
Panchala? Trained in arms by the preceptor Drona, by Sakra, and
Vaisravana, and Yama, and Varuna, and Agni, and Kripa, and Krishna of
Madhu's race, and by the wielder of the _Pinaka_ (Siva), why shall I not
fight with these? Drive thou my car speedily, and let thy heart's fever
be dispelled.'"
[50] Some texts read,--'One large meteor fell.'
[51] In some editions read,--_Bharata dwijam_, and _Maha-hardam_
for _maha-drumam_. The meaning would then be,--'The banners (of
the hostile army) began to tremble in the sky, and large lakes
were agitated.'