Vaisampayana continued, “When Sakra had gone to his proper place,
Vibhatsu together with his brothers and Krishna, paid homage unto the son
of Dharma. Then smelling the crown of the head of that Pandava, who was
thus paying homage, (Yudhishthira) in accents faltering on account of
you, addressed Arjuna, saying ‘O Arjuna, how didst thou pass this period
in heaven? And how has thou obtained the weapons, and how also hast thou
gratified the lord of the celestials? And, O Pandava, has thou adequately
secured the weapons? Have the lord of the celestials and Rudra gladly
granted thee the weapons? And how hast thou beheld the divine Sakra, and
the wielder of Pinaka? And how has thou obtained the weapons? And in what
manner didst thou worship (them)? And what service hadst thou done unto
that repressor of foes, the worshipful one of a hundred sacrifices, that
he said unto thee, ‘By thee have I been gratified? All this, O highly
effulgent one, I wish to hear in detail. And, O sinless one, the manner
in which thou didst please Mahadeva and the king of the celestials and, O
repressor of foes, the service thou hadst done to the wielder of the
thunder-bolt,--do thou, O Dhananjaya, relate all this in detail.”
“Arjuna said, ‘O mighty monarch, listen how I duly beheld him of a
hundred sacrifice and the divine Sankara also. O grinder of foes, O king,
having acquired that science which thou hadst directed me (to learn), I
at thy command went to the forest, for practising penances. From Kamyaka
repairing to the Bhrigutunga, I spent there one night, being engaged in
austerities And it came to pass that on the next I saw a certain
Brahmana. And he asked me, saying, ‘O son of Kunti, whither wilt thou
go?’ Thereupon, O descendant of the Kurus, I truly related unto him
everything. And, O best of kings, having heard the true account, the
Brahmana became well-pleased with me, and, O king, praised me. Then the
Brahmana, pleased with me, said, ‘O Bharata, be thou engaged in
austerities. By performing penances, thou wilt in a short time behold the
lord of the celestials.’ And according to his advice I ascended the
Himavan, and, O mighty king, began to practise penances, (the first)
month subsisting on fruit and roots. I spent the second month, subsisting
on water. And, O Pandava, in the third month I totally abstained from
food. And in the fourth month I remained with upraised arms. And a wonder
it is that I did not lose any strength. And it came to pass that when the
first day of the fifth month had been spent, there appeared before me a
being wearing the form of a boar, turning up the earth with his mouth,
stamping the ground with his feet, rubbing the earth with his breast, and
momentarily going about in a frightful manner. And him followed a great
being in the guise of a hunter furnished with the bow, arrows, and the
sword, and surrounded by females. Thereupon, taking my bow and the two
inexhaustible quivers, I pierced with shafts that terrible and frightful
creature. And simultaneously (with me) that hunter also drawing a strong
bow, more severely struck at (the animal), as if shaking my mind. And, O
king, he also said unto me, ‘Why hast thou, transgressing the rules of
hunting, hit the animal first hit at by me? With these sharpened shafts
will I destroy thy pride. Stay!’ Then that mighty-bodied one holding the
bow rushed at me. And with volleys of mighty shafts, he covered me
entirely, even as a cloud covereth a mountain with showers. Then, on my
part, I covered him with a mighty discharge of arrows. Thereupon, with
steady arrows having their points aflame, and inspired with mantras, I
pierced him even as (Indra) riveth a mountain with a thunderbolt. Then
his person began to be multiplied a hundredfold and a thousandfold. At
this, I pierced all this bodies with shafts. Then again all those forms
became one, O Bharata. Thereat I struck at it. Next, he now assumed a
small body with a huge head, and now a huge body with a small head. And,
O king, he then assumed his former person and approached me for fight.
And, O foremost of the Bharata race, when in the encounter I failed to
overwhelm him with arrows, I fixed the mighty weapon of the Wind-god. But
I failed to discharge it at him, and this was a wonder. And when that
weapon thus failed of effect, I was struck with amazement. However, O
king, exerting myself more vigorously, I again covered that being with a
mighty multitude of shafts. Then taking Sthunakarna, and Varuna and
Salava, and Asmavarsha weapons, I assailed him, profusely showering
shafts. But, O king, he instantly swallowed up even all these weapons of
mine. And when all those (weapons) had been swallowed up, I discharged
the weapon presided over by Brahma. And when the blazing arrows issuing
from that weapon were heaped upon him all around, and being thus heaped
over by that mighty weapon discharged by me, he increased (in bulk). Then
all the world became oppressed with the energy begotten of the weapon
hurled by me, and the firmament and all the points of the sky became
illumined. But that one of mighty energy instantly baffled even that
weapon. And, O monarch, when that weapon presided over by Brahma had been
baffled I was possessed with terrible fear. Thereupon immediately holding
even my bow and the two inexhaustible quivers, I shot at that being, but
he swallowed up all those weapons. And when all the weapons had been
baffled and swallowed up, there ensued a wrestling between him and
myself. And we encountered each other first with blows and then with
slaps. But incapable of overcoming that being, I fell down stupefied on
the ground. Thereupon, O mighty king, with a laugh, that wonderful being
at my sight vanished at that spot together with the woman. Having
accomplished this, O illustrious monarch, that divine one assumed another
and unearthly form (clad in) wonderful raiment. And renouncing the form
of a hunter, that divine lord of the gods, resumed his own unearthly
appearance and that mighty god stood (there). Then appeared before me
with Uma that manifest divine one, having the bull for his mark, wielding
the Pinaka, bearing serpents and cable of assuming many forms. And, O
repressor of foes, advancing towards me, standing even then in the field
ready for conflict, that wielder of the trident addressed me saying, I am
well-pleased with thee. Then that divine one held up my bows and the
couple of quivers furnished with inexhaustible shafts and returned them
unto me saying, ‘Do thou ask some boon, O Kunti’s son. I am well-pleased
with thee. Tell me, what I shall do for thee. And, O hero, express the
desire that dwelleth in thy heart. I will grant it. Except immortality
alone, tell me as to the desire that is in thy heart. Thereat with my
mind intent on the acquisition of arms, I only bowed down unto Siva and
said, ‘O divine one, if thou beest favourably disposed towards me, then I
wish to have this boon,--I wish to learn all the weapons that are with
thy god-head.’ Then the god Tryamvaka said unto me, ‘I will give. O
Pandava, my own weapon Raudra shall attend upon thee.’ Thereupon
Mahadeva, well-pleased, granted to me the mighty weapon, Pasupata. And,
having granted that eternal weapon, he also said unto me, This must never
be hurled at mortals. If discharged at any person of small energy, it
would consume the universe. Shouldst thou (at any time) be hard pressed,
thou mayst discharge it. And when all thy weapons have been completely
baffled, thou mayst hurl it.’ Then when he having the bull for his mark,
had been thus gratified, there stood manifest by my side that celestial
weapon, of resistless force capable of baffling all weapons and
destructive of foes and the hewer of hostile forces and unrivalled and
difficult to be borne even by the celestials, the demons and the
Rakshasas. Then at the command of that god, I sat me down there. And in
my very sight the god vanished from the spot.’”