(Swayamvara Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'When the king (Drupada) expressed his desire of
bestowing his daughter on that Brahmana (who had shot the mark), all those
monarchs who had been invited to the Swayamvara, looking at one another,
were suddenly filled with wrath. And they said, "Passing us by and
treating the assembled monarchs as straw this Drupada desireth to bestow
his daughter--that first of women,--on a Brahmana! Having planted the tree
he cutteth it down when it is about to bear fruit. The wretch regardeth us
not: therefore let us slay him. He deserveth not our respect nor the
veneration due to age. Owing to such qualities of his, we shall, therefore,
slay this wretch that insulteth all kings, along with his son. Inviting
all the monarchs and entertaining them with excellent food, he
disregardeth us at last. In this assemblage of monarchs like unto a
conclave of the celestials, doth he not see a single monarch equal unto
himself? The Vedic declaration is well-known that the Swayamvara is for
the Kshatriyas. The Brahmanas have no claim in respect of a selection of
husband by a Kshatriya damsel. Or, ye kings, if this damsel desireth not
to select any one of us as her lord, let us cast her into the fire and
return to our kingdoms. As regards this Brahmana, although he hath, from
officiousness or avarice, done this injury to the monarchs, he should not
yet be slain; for our kingdoms, lives, treasures, sons, grandsons, and
whatever other wealth we have, all exist for Brahmanas. Something must be
done here (even unto him), so that from fear of disgrace and the desire of
maintaining what properly belongeth unto each order, other Swayamvaras may
not terminate in this way."
"'Having addressed one another thus, those tigers among monarchs endued
with arms like unto spiked iron maces, took up their weapons and rushed at
Drupada to slay him then and there. And Drupada beholding those monarchs
all at once rushing towards him in anger with bows and arrows, sought,
from fear, the protection of the Brahmanas. But those mighty bowmen (Bhima
and Arjuna) of the Pandavas, capable of chastising all foes, advanced to
oppose those monarchs rushing towards them impetuously like elephants in
the season of rut. Then the monarchs with gloved fingers and upraised
weapons rushed in anger at the Kuru princes, Bhima and Arjuna, to slay
them. Then the mighty Bhima of extraordinary achievements, endued with the
strength of thunder, tore up like an elephant a large tree and divested it
of its leaves. And with that tree, the strong-armed Bhima, the son of
Pritha, that grinder of foes, stood, like unto the mace-bearing king of
the dead (Yama) armed with his fierce mace, near Arjuna that bull amongst
men. And beholding that feat of his brother, Jishnu of extraordinary
intelligence, himself also of inconceivable feats, wondered much. And
equal unto Indra himself in achievements, shaking off all fear he stood
with his bow ready to receive those assailants. And beholding those feats
of both Jishnu and his brother, Damodara (Krishna) of superhuman
intelligence and inconceivable feats, addressing his brother, Halayudha
(Valadeva) of fierce energy, said, "That hero there, of tread like that of
a mighty lion, who draweth the large bow in his hand four full cubits in
length, is Arjuna! There is no doubt, O Sankarshana, about this, if I am
Vasudeva. That other hero who having speedily torn up the tree hath
suddenly become ready to drive off the monarchs is Vrikodara! For no one
in the world, except Vrikodara, could today perform such a feat in the
field of battle. And that other youth of eyes like unto lotus-petals, of
full four cubits height, of gait like that of a mighty lion, and humble
withal, of fair complexion and prominent and shining nose, who had, a
little before, left the amphitheatre, is Dharma's son (Yudhishthira). The
two other youths, like unto Kartikeya, are, I suspect, the sons of the
twin Aswins. I heard that the sons of Pandu along with their mother Pritha
had all escaped from the conflagration of the house of lac." Then
Halayudha of complexion like unto that of clouds uncharged with rain,
addressing his younger brother (Krishna), said with great satisfaction, "O,
I am happy to hear, as I do from sheer good fortune, that our father's
sister Pritha with the foremost of the Kaurava princes have all escaped
(from death)!"'"