weapons. And he tied them fast on those parts
of the tree which he thought would not break, and
where the rain would not penetrate. And the Pandavas
hung up a corpse (on the tree), knowing that people
smelling the stench of the corpse would say—
here
sure, is a dead body, and avoid the tree from a
distance. And on being asked by the shepherds
and cowherds regarding the corpse, those repressers
of foes said unto them, ’This is our mother,
aged one hundred and eighty years. We have hung
up her dead body, in accordance with the custom observed
by our forefathers.’ And then those resisters
of foes approached the city. And for purposes
of non-discovery Yudhishthira kept these (five) names
for himself and his brothers respectively,
viz.,
Jaya, Jayanta, Vijaya, Jayatsena, and Jayadvala.
Then they entered the great city, with the view to
passing the thirteenth year undiscovered in that kingdom,
agreeably to the promise (to Duryodhana).”
Vaisampayana said, “And while Yudhishthira was
on his way to the delightful city of Virata, he began
to praise mentally the Divine Durga, the Supreme Goddess
of the Universe, born on the womb of Yasoda, and fond
of the boons bestowed on her by Narayana, sprung from
the race of cowherd Nanda, and the giver of prosperity,
the enhancer (of the glory) of (the worshipper’s)
family, the terrifier of Kansa, and the destroyer
of Asuras,—and saluted the Goddess—her
who ascended the skies when dashed (by Kansa) on a
stony platform, who is the sister of Vasudeva, one
who is always decked in celestial garlands and attired
in celestial robes,—who is armed with scimitar
and shield, and always rescues the worshipper sunk
in sin, like a cow in the mire, who in the hours of
distress calls upon that eternal giver of blessings
for relieving him of their burdens. And the king,
desirous with his brothers of obtaining a sight of
the Goddess, invoked her and began to praise her by
reciting various names derived from (approved) hymns.
And Yudhishthira said, ’Salutations to thee,
O giver of boons. O thou that art identical with
Krishna, O maiden, O thou that hast observed the vow
of Brahmacharya, O thou of body bright as the
newly-risen Sun, O thou of face beautiful as the full
moon. Salutations to thee, O thou of four hands
and four faces, O thou of fair round hips and deep
bosom, O thou that wearest bangles made of emeralds
and sapphires, O thou that bearest excellent bracelets
on thy upper arm. Thou shinest, O Goddess, as
Padma, the consort of Narayana. O thou that rangest
the etherial regions, thy true form and thy Brahmacharya
are both of the purest kind. Sable as the black
clouds, thy face is beautiful as that of Sankarshana.
Thou bearest two large arms long as a couple of poles
raised in honour of Indra. In thy (six) other
arms thou bearest a vessel, a lotus, a bell, a noose,
a bow, a large discus, and various other weapons.
Print
Word
PDF
