(Sambhava Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'O thou of Kuru's race, after Chitrangada was slain,
his successor Vichitravirya being a minor, Bhishma ruled the kingdom,
placing himself under the command of Satyavati. When he saw that his
brother, who was the foremost of intelligent men, attained to majority,
Bhishma set his heart upon marrying Vichitravirya. At this time he heard
that the three daughters of the king of Kasi, all equal in beauty to the
Apsaras themselves, would be married on the same occasion, selecting their
husbands at a self-choice ceremony. Then that foremost of car-warriors,
that vanquisher of all foes, at the command of his mother, went to the
city of Varanasi in a single chariot. There Bhishma, the son of Santanu,
saw that innumerable monarchs had come from all directions; and there he
also saw those three maidens that would select their own husbands. And
when the (assembled) kings were each being mentioned by name, Bhishma
chose those maidens (on behalf of his brother). And taking them upon his
chariot, Bhishma, that first of smiters in battle, addressed the kings, O
monarch, and said in a voice deep as the roar of the clouds, "The wise
have directed that when an accomplished person has been invited, a maiden
may be bestowed on him, decked with ornaments and along with many valuable
presents. Others again may bestow their daughters by accepting a couple of
kine. Some again bestow their daughters by taking a fixed sum, and some
take away maidens by force. Some wed with the consent of the maidens, some
by drugging them into consent, and some by going unto the maidens' parents
and obtaining their sanction. Some again obtain wives as presents for
assisting at sacrifices. Of these, the learned always applaud the eighth
form of marriage. Kings, however, speak highly of the Swyamvara (the fifth
form as above) and themselves wed according to it. But the sages have said
that, that wife is dearly to be prized who is taken away by force, after
the slaughter of opponents, from amidst the concourse of princes and kings
invited to a self-choice ceremony. Therefore, ye monarchs, I bear away
these maidens hence by force. Strive ye, to the best of your might, to
vanquish me or to be vanquished. Ye monarchs, I stand here resolved to
fight!" The Kuru prince, endued with great energy, thus addressing the
assembled monarchs and the king of Kasi, took upon his car those maidens.
And having taken them up, he sped his chariot away, challenging the
invited kings to a fight.
"'The challenged monarchs then all stood up, slapping their arms and biting
their nether lips in wrath. And loud was the din produced, as, in a great
hurry, they began to cast off their ornaments and put on their armour. And
the motion of their ornaments and armour, O Janamejaya, brilliant as these
were, resembled meteoric flashes in the sky. And with brows contracted and
eyes red with rage, the monarchs moved in impatience, their armour and
ornaments dazzling or waving with their agitated steps. The charioteers
soon brought handsome cars with fine horses harnessed thereto. Those
splendid warriors then, equipped with all kinds of weapons, rode on those
cars, and with uplifted weapons pursued the retreating chief of the Kurus.
Then, O Bharata, occurred the terrible encounter between those innumerable
monarchs on one side and the Kuru warrior alone on the other. And the
assembled monarchs threw at their foe ten thousand arrows at the same time.
Bhishma, however speedily checked those numberless arrows before they
could come at him by means of a shower of his own arrows as innumerable as
the down on the body. Then those kings surrounded him from all sides and
rained arrows on him like masses of clouds showering on the mountain-
breast. But Bhishma, arresting with his shafts the course of that arrowy
downpour, pierced each of the monarchs with three shafts. The latter, in
their turn pierced Bhishma, each with five shafts. But, O king, Bhishma
checked those by his prowess and pierced each of the contending kings with
two shafts. The combat became so fierce with that dense shower of arrows
and other missiles that it looked very much like the encounter between the
celestials and the Asuras of old, and men of courage who took no part in
it were struck with fear even to look at the scene. Bhishma cut off, with
his arrows, on the field of battle, bows, and flagstaffs, and coats of
mail, and human heads by hundreds and thousands. And such was his terrible
prowess and extraordinary lightness of hand, and such the skill with which
he protected himself, that the contending car-warriors, though his enemies,
began to applaud him loudly. Then that foremost of all wielders of weapons
having vanquished in battle all those monarchs, pursued his way towards
the capital of the Bharatas, taking those maidens with him.
"'It was then, O king, that mighty car-warrior, king Salya of immeasurable
prowess, from behind summoned Bhishma, the son of Santanu, to an encounter.
And desirous of obtaining the maidens, he came upon Bhishma like a mighty
leader of a herd of elephants rushing upon another of his kind, and
tearing with his tusks the latter's hips at the sight of a female elephant
in heat. And Salya of mighty arms, moved by wrath addressed Bhishma and
said, "Stay, Stay." Then Bhishma, that tiger among men, that grinder of
hostile armies, provoked by these words, flamed up in wrath like a blazing
fire. Bow in hand, and brow furrowed into wrinkles, he stayed on his car,
in obedience to Kshatriya usage having checked its course in expectation
of the enemy. All the monarchs seeing him stop, stood there to become
spectators of the coming encounter between him and Salya. The two then
began to exhibit their prowess (upon each other) like roaring bulls of
great strength at the sight of a cow in rut. Then that foremost of men,
king Salya covered Bhishma, the son of Santanu with hundreds and thousands
of swift-winged shafts. And those monarchs seeing Salya thus covering
Bhishma at the outset with innumerable shafts, wondered much and uttered
shouts of applause. Beholding his lightness of hand in combat, the crowd
of regal spectators became very glad and applauded Salya greatly. That
subjugator of hostile towns, Bhishma, then, on hearing those shouts of the
Kshatriyas, became very angry and said, "Stay, Stay." In wrath, he
commanded his charioteer, saying, "Lead thou my car to where Salya is, so
that I may slay him instantly as Garuda slays a serpent." Then the Kuru
chief fixed the Varuna weapon on his bow-string, and with it afflicted the
four steeds of king Salya. And, O tiger among kings, the Kuru chief, then,
warding off with his weapons those of his foe, slew Salya's charioteer.
Then that first of men, Bhishma, the son of Santanu, fighting for the sake
of those damsels, slew with the Aindra weapon the noble steeds of his
adversary. He then vanquished that best of monarchs but left him with his
life. O bull of Bharata's race, Salya, after his defeat, returned to his
kingdom and continued to rule it virtuously. And O conqueror of hostile
towns, the other kings also, who had come to witness the self-choice
ceremony returned to their own kingdoms.
"'That foremost of smiters, viz., Bhishma, after defeating those monarchs,
set out with those damsels, for Hastinapura whence the virtuous Kuru
prince Vichitravirya ruled the earth like that best of monarchs, viz., his
father Santanu. And, O king, passing through many forests, rivers, hills,
and woods abounding with trees, he arrived (at the capital) in no time. Of
immeasurable prowess in battle, the son of the ocean-going Ganga, having
slain numberless foes in battle without a scratch on his own person,
brought the daughters of the king of Kasi unto the Kurus as tenderly if
they were his daughters-in-law, or younger sisters, or daughters. And
Bhishma of mighty arms, impelled by the desire of benefiting his brother,
having by his prowess brought them thus, then offered those maidens
possessing every accomplishment unto Vichitravirya. Conversant with the
dictates of virtue, the son of Santanu, having achieved such an
extraordinary feat according to (kingly) custom, then began to make
preparations for his brother's wedding. And when everything about the
wedding had been settled by Bhishma in consultation with Satyavati, the
eldest daughter of the king of Kasi, with a soft smile, told him these
words, "At heart I had chosen the king of Saubha for my husband. He had,
in his heart, accepted me for his wife. This was also approved by my
father. At the self-choice ceremony also I would have chosen him as my
lord. Thou art conversant with all the dictates of virtue, knowing all
this, do as thou likest." Thus addressed by that maiden in the presence of
the Brahmanas, the heroic Bhishma began to reflect as to what should be
done. As he was conversant with the rules of virtue, he consulted with the
Brahmanas who had mastered the Vedas, and permitted Amba, the eldest
daughter of the ruler of Kasi to do as she liked. But he bestowed with due
rites the two other daughters, Ambika and Ambalika on his younger brother
Vichitravirya. And though Vichitravirya was virtuous and abstemious, yet,
proud of youth and beauty, he soon became lustful after his marriage. And
both Ambika and Ambalika were of tall stature, and of the complexion of
molten gold. And their heads were covered with black curly hair, and their
finger-nails were high and red; their hips were fat and round, and their
breasts full and deep. And endued with every auspicious mark, the amiable
young ladies considered themselves to be wedded to a husband who was every
way worthy of themselves, and extremely loved and respected Vichitravirya.
And Vichitravirya also, endued with the prowess of the celestials and the
beauty of the twin Aswins, could steal the heart of any beautiful woman.
And the prince passed seven years uninterruptedly in the company of his
wives. He was attacked while yet in the prime of youth, with phthisis.
Friends and relatives in consultation with one another tried to effect a
cure. But in spite of all efforts, the Kuru prince died, setting like the
evening sun. The virtuous Bhishma then became plunged into anxiety and
grief, and in consultation with Satyavati caused the obsequial rites of
the deceased to be performed by learned priests and the several of the
Kuru race.'"