Vaishampāyana said:—Here the highly energetic Vishnu, a moment after sun
rise, went to the Raivataka mountain, under the pretext of hunting,
taking up, O descendant of the Kurus, that foremost of men Satyaki on
his car and telling Pradyumna "Follow me" (1–2). On having reached the
Raivataka mountain, that divine one thus spoke to Dāruka:—"O Daruka,
take charge of my chariot and wait here tending and grooming the horses
for this half of the day; O foremost of charioteers, I shall re-enter
Dwarkā on this very car" (3-4). Having thus delivered his command, that
illustrious and intelligent god, of immeasurable prowess, rode on the
back of Garuda, being accompanied by Satyaki (5). O descendant of the
Kurus, that slayer of his foes Pradyumna followed Krishna from behind on
a separate car capable of coursing on hills (6). Within the twinkle of
an eye the intelligent Hari arrived at the pleasure park of the gods,
the Nandana forest, with a view to carry away the Pārijāta from there
(7). There in the garden of gods, the illustrious Adhokshaja saw hosts
of celestial warriors, indomitable, courageous and armed with various
weapons (8). That refuge of the pious, the mighty Krishna uprooted the
Pārijāta tree and placed it on the back of Garuda even before their eyes
(9). Thereupon, O Bhārata, the Pārijāta, having embodied itself,
approached (with prayer) Kesava and Garuda, that king of birds (10). The
tree Pārijāta was consoled by the high souled Kesava and was told—"Do
thou not fear, O tree" (11). Then assuring himself that the tree
Pārijāta was securely placed (on the bird’s back), Adhokshaja began to
go round that best of strong-holds, the abode of the gods (12).
Meanwhile the keepers of the garden of gods, had run to Mahendra and
informed him saying—"that the most excellent of trees, the Pārijāta, is
being carried away." (13). Thereupon the subduer of Pāka (Indra) came
out mounted on Airāvata being followed from behind by Jayanta on a car
(14). Then beholding that slayer of his foes Vāsudeva, who had by that
time reached the Eastern gate, Indra said—"O slayer of Madhu, what is
this going on" (15). Thereupon Kesava, seated on the back of Garuda,
saluted Sakra with his head and said:—"I am only taking away this
excellent tree for a ceremonious observance of your sister-in-law" (16).
Sakra replied saying,—"O lotus-eyed one, thou shouldst not take away
this tree, O infallible one, without challenging me to fight (17). O
mighty armed Kesava, deal thou the first blow on me; and let thy promise
be fulfilled by your hurling the Koumodaki mace at me" (18). Thereupon,
O Bhārata, Krishna began to pierce the excellent elephant of the king of
the celestials, with sharp arrows fierce like thunder itself (19). Then
with excellent arrows of heavenly make, the wielder of the thunder-bolt
began to pierce Garuda; and he soon succeeded in cutting off all the
arrows of the light-handed Kesava (20). Mādhava cut off all those arrows
which the lord of the gods shot; and smiling, the slayer of Vala and
Vritra severed those shot by Mādhava (21). Then, O delighter of the
Karus, at the sound of Mahendra’s bow and at the twang of the Sranga
bow, the inhabitants of heaven swooned away (22). When the fight was
thus raging between them the highly powerful Jayanta tried to remove the
Pārijāta tree from the back of Garuda (23). Thereupon the slayer of
Kansa said to Pradyumna "Prevent him (from taking away the Pārijāta)";
and instantly the highly powerful son of Rukshmini opposed him (firmly)
(24). Then Jayanta, seated on his chariot, that foremost of victorious
persons, began to pierce with sharp arrows smilingly the son of
Rukshmini on all parts of his body (25). The lotus-eyed god Cupid on the
other hand, seated on his chariot, pierced the son of Indra, with arrows
looking like snakes (26). O delighter of the Karus, then a fierce combat
raged between the heroic Jayanta and the son of Rukshmini (27). Then
those two mighty heroes, the sons of Upendra and Mahendra, the foremost
of the wielders of weapons, used offensive and defensive weapons against
each other (28). The gods, the sages, the Siddhas and the Chārnas, all
beheld that fierce combat being much struck with wonder (29).
O delighter of the Kurus, meanwhile, a messenger of the gods, named
Pravara, of great strength, tried to take away the Pārijāta from the
back of Garuda (30). O descendant of the Kurus, this Pravara was the
friend of the ruler of the gods; he was accomplished in the use of
mighty weapons and able to subdue all his foes; he was incapable of
being slain by virtue of a boon obtained from Brahmā (31). Formerly he
was a Brāhmana inhabiting the Jamva Island, whence through the merit of
religious penances, he attained to heaven, and there O ruler of men, he
earned the friendship of the slayer of Vala by virtue of his own powers
(32). On beholding him advance, Krishna told Sātyaki;—"O Sātyaki, even
from this place do thou oppose Pravara with thy arrows (33). Thou shalt
not, O Satyaki, shoot fierce arrows at him and his Brahmanical
fickleness should be put up with by all means (34)". Thereafter the
mighty-armed Pravara, that foremost of twice born ones, pierced Satyaki
who was seated on Garuda with a group of sixty sharp arrows (35).
Thereupon, O king, the grandson of Sini, that foremost of warriors, cut
off the bow of Pravara with which he was shooting the arrows, and spoke
these words to him (36). "Thou art not to be slain being a Brāhmana; go
and pursue thy own mode of life; twice-born sages, even if they offend,
are incapable of being slain by the Yādavas" (37). O delighter of the
Kurus,—Pravara then thus smilingly replied to him—"O foremost of human
heroes, thou needst not be forgiving; fight the battle with all thy
might (38). I am the disciple of Jamadagni’s son Rama, and my name is
Pravara. I enjoy the friendship of the illustrious Sakra (39). The gods
here do not desire to join in the fray out of regard for the slayer of
Madhu; but O Mādhava, I shall to-day pay off the debt of friendship I
owe to Indra, (by slaying his adversary)" (40). Then O king, a fearful
battle raged between them, as that foremost of men, the grandson of
Sini, and the best of the twice-born one, shot at each other weapons of
divine make (41). Then as the battle between those high-souled ones
progressed, the sky began to tremble and the mountains were highly
agitated (42).
Here on the other hand, neither the son of Krishna was able to overpower
that foremost of all wielders of weapons the son of Indra, nor was this
latter able to defeat that best of heroes, the illustrious and heroic
son of Krishna (43). O best of men, then those two foremost of heroes,
each desirous of winning victory over the other, fought on
exclaiming—strike, ’hold,’ &c. (44). The powerful son of Sachi then, O
king, challenging the son of the wielder of the Srānga bow (Krishna)
struck him with a weapon of heavenly make (45). The son of Krishna, then
with an arrowy net woven with sharp shafts, stopped the fight of that
blazing darts. This appeared wonderful (46). But, O descendant of the
Kurus, that blazing weapon, dreadful and destructive of the Dānavas,
after a moment’s pause, fell upon the top of the car of the son of
Rukshmini (47). The car of the illustrious Pradyumna was burnt down by
that weapon but it could not, O ruler of men, consume the son of
Rukshmini (48), for O Lord of men, fire, although tremendous, cannot
burn another fire. Thereafter the mighty-armed son of Rukshmini
extricated himself from the burning chariot (49).
Then the son of Nārāyana, that best of car-warriors, being deprived of
his car, stationed himself in the heaven with bow in hand and thus
addressed Jayanta (50). "O son of Mahendra,—I am incapable of being
slain by the weapon of divine make that thou didst hurl at me and by
hundreds of such weapons (51). Try thy best and display to-day all
learning and knowledge; but, O son of an immortal, there is none that
can overpower me in battle (52). When armed with weapons thou didst come
out in thy car, I was a little afraid; but now having seen thy prowess
in battle I do not fear thee the least, (53). As thou shalt no longer be
able to touch this Pārijāta tree with thy hands, content thyself with
its thought in thy mind (54). Of the illusive chariot that thou hast
burnt down with the flame of thy weapon, I can create thousands through
the virtue of my illusive powers" (55). Thus spoken to the highly
powerful Jayanta, with great force, shot a fierce weapon obtained by him
through his austere penances (56). Pradyumna opposed that weapon of
tremendous force with a net-work of arrows; the son of Indra next shot
another four arrows (57). And those weapons, O Bhārata, chocked all the
quarters of the heavens; then with another set of five arrows, he
completely covered the son of Rukshmini on the sky (58). Arrows like
blazing fire and dreadful weapons, all, that the foremost of the
immortals showered on Pradyumna, fell from all sides (59). All those
weapons and arrows the son of Krishna checked by a group of his own
arrows; and he then also pierced Jayanta with other sharp arrows (60).
Then the immortals of holy deeds, beholding the firmness and
light-handedness of the high-souled Pradyumna, exclaimed out in joy
(61). The heroic descendant of Sini also, O Bharata, cut off the
bow-string and the finger-protector of Pravara with a sharp arrow (62).
The latter then grasped another mighty bow of excellent make, which was
given to him by Mahendra and whose twang resembled the sound of thunder
(63). Then with that mighty bow, that foremost of twice-born ones, that
heroic Pravara began to shoot arrows of diverse sorts, bright and
effulgent like rays of the sun (64). He cut off the beautiful bow of the
mighty grandson of Sini and pierced him on all parts of his body, with
numerous shafts (65). Thereupon, O delighter of the Kurus, the grandson
of Sini took up another bow capable of withstanding much force; and that
intelligent one then sorely pierced Pravara in that battle (66). They
cut off each other’s armours with sharp shafts; and with arrows capable
of penetrating to the very heart they mutilated each other’s flesh (67).
Then again the heroic Pravara severed, in twain, the bow of Sātyaki with
eight whetted shafts and pierced him with three more (68). When Sātyaki
thought of taking up another bow, that twice-born one, of great
light-handedness, struck him with a mace that could be hurled at the foe
(69). Thereupon Sātyaki, with a smile, took up his sword and buckler and
that intelligent one did not take up his bow as he was sorely wounded
with the bow. But the brave Pravara cut off the sword and buckler
shooting a full hundred arrows (70). Thereupon Pradyumna, beholding that
delighter of the Yadus, namely Satyaki disarmed, gave him another sword
bright like the cloudless sky (71). But Pravara, with a smile, cut off
even that sword with a sharp Valla, when it was in the grasp of its
owner (72). Thereupon with sharp straight arrows he began to mutilate
Sātyaki’s skin; and that twice born one, struck on the breast with a
lance, shouted out in joy (73). Then finding him over-powered Pravara
approached Garuda on his car with a view to take away the Pārijāta from
his back (74) Thereupon Garuda struck him with his wings so vehemently
that he, with his car, fell full four miles back and there fainted away
(75). O king! Jayanta then hastened to pick up the Brāhmana who was thus
hurled back, and taking him up on his car cheered him (76). On the other
hand, Pradyaumna consoled and cheered up his uncle the grandson of Sini
who was fainting and falling down over and over and embraced him (in
order to infuse strength into him) (77). The slayer of Madhu then
touched Satyaki with his right hand; and instantly at the touch the
latter was free from pain and distress (78). Then Pradyumna and
Satyaki—the two foremost of warriors, placed themselves on the right and
left side of Pārijāta respectively (in order to protect it) (79).
On the other hand, O Bhārata, the high-souled Mahendra beholding Jayanta
and Pravara returning to the fight on the same chariot, smilingly said
to them (80):—"Never and under no circumstances go near Garuda, the king
of the feathery creation; the son of Vinatā is immensely mighty (81). Do
you both place yourselves armed on my left and right side and behold me
fight (with Krishna)" (82). Thus spoken to, those two heroes placed
themselves on both sides of Sakra and witnessed the fighting between
Indra and Janārddana (33).
Indra then pierced Garuda on all parts of his body with arrows and
mighty weapons of excellent make, whose sound resembled the rumble of
thunder (84). But the highly powerful son of Vinatā, that heroic subduer
of his foes, without paying the least heed to those arrows, flew swiftly
towards the elephant of Sakra (85). Then those two mighty highly
powerful, courageous and indomitable bird and elephant began to fight
with tremendous fierceness (86). Emitting loud roars that king of
elephants Airāvata then began to wound the enemy of the snakes with his
tusks, trunk and head (87). The son of Vinatā, of fierce strength, on
the other hand attacked the elephant of Indra, with his sharp claws and
strokes of wing (88). Within a moment the fight between the bird and the
elephant grew dreadful, so much so as to strike terror into heart of the
onlookers, and to cause astonishment to the whole universe (89).
Thereafter O Bhārata, Garuda, of mighty strength, struck Airāvata on the
head with his fierce claws furnished with fearful talons (90). Afflicted
sorely with the wound, O Janamajaya, the elephant fell from the heights
of heaven on the top of that best of mountains the Pārijātra that exists
on this island of ours (91). But as he fell, the mighty Sakra did not
leave her, out of pity, friendliness and of his promise made before
(92). The infallible and mighty Krishna, of supreme intelligence,
followed him on Garuda carrying the Pārijāta, tree (93). The slayer of
Krita was thus born down to the Parijatra mountain.
Then when Airāvata regained strength, the battle between Krishna and
Indra once more raged fiercely (94). They shot at each other
gem-bedecked arrows resembling snakes in shape and carefully tempered
and whetted on stone (95), O king, thereafter the wielder of the bolt of
heaven hurled at Garuda, Airāvata’s enemy, his thunder again and again
with great noise (96). But that foremost of all beings possessed of
prowess, that king of the birds incapable of being slain by any one,
patiently endured all those strokes of thunder (97). But each time out
of regard for the bolt of heaven and for his brother the heavenly king
Sakra, the king of birds plucked a feather from his wing (93). O king,
the mountain Pārijatra then sank down under the weight of Garuda, and
trembling in all parts it went inside the earth (99). It emitted sweet
sound in order to show respect for Krishna and Adokshaja then beheld
only a very small part of it above the earth (100). Thereupon forsaking
it, he roared into the heaven, on the back of Garuda; and that creator
of every thing and the protector of the worlds thereupon thus spoke to
Pradyumna (101):—"With the help of my energy do thou, O mighty-armed
one, repair to Dwarkā and bring my chariot with Dāruka without delay
(102). O bestower of honor, thou shouldst inform Valabhadra and the
ruler of the Kukuras, that to-morrow after having defeated Indra, I will
return to Dwarkā" (103).
Thereupon saying "So be it" in reply to his father, the virtuous and
powerful Pradyumna went to Dwarkā, and spoke to Ugrasena and Valabhadra
the words of his father’s (104). Thereafter, O Bhārata, within a hour he
came back to the scene of fight riding on Krishna’s car accompanied by
Dāruka (105).