The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 1,582 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4.

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 1,582 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4.
water-rite of my sire.  My aged sire, Bhagadatta, who was the friend of thy sire, was slain by thee in consequence of his weight of years.  Do thou, however, fight me that am but a boy!’[192] Having said these words, O thou of Kuru’s race, king Vajradatta, filled with rage, urged his elephant towards the son of Pandu.  Urged on by Vajradatta of great intelligence, that prince of elephants, as if desirous of cutting through the welkin, rushed towards Dhananjaya.  That prince of elephants drenched Arjuna with a shower of juice emitted from the end of his trunk, like a mass of blue clouds drenching a hill with its downpour.  Indeed, urged on by the king, elephant, repeatedly roaring like a cloud, rushed towards Phalguna, with that deep noise emitted from its mouth.  Verily, urged on by Vajradatta, that prince of elephants quickly moved towards the mighty car-warrior of the Kurus, with the tread of one that seemed to dance in excitement.  Beholding that beast of Vajradatta advance towards him, that slayer of foes, viz., the mighty Dhananjaya, relying on Gandiva, stood his ground without shaking with fear.  Recollecting what an obstacle Vajradatta was proving to the accomplishment of his task, and remembering the old enmity of the house (of Pragjyotisha towards the Pandavas), the son of Pandu became exceedingly inflamed with wrath against the king.  Filled with rage, Dhananjaya impeded the course of that beast with a shower of arrows like the shore resisting the surging sea.  That prince of elephants possessed of beauty (of form), thus impeded by Arjuna, stopped in its course, with body pierced with many an arrow, like a porcupine with its quills erect.  Seeing his elephant impeded in its course, the royal son of Bhagadatta, deprived of sense by rage, shot many whetted arrows at Arjuna.  The mighty-armed Arjuna baffled all those arrows with many foe-slaying shafts of his.  The feat seemed to be exceedingly wonderful.  Once more the king of the Pragjyotishas, inflamed with ire, forcibly urged his elephant, which resembled a mountain, at Arjuna.  Beholding the beast once more advancing towards him, Arjuna shot with great strength a shaft at it that resembled a veritable flame of fire.  Struck deeply in the very vitals, O king, by the son of Pandu, the beast suddenly fell down on the Earth like a mountain summit loosened by a thunder-bolt.  Struck with Dhartanjaya’s shaft, the elephant, as it lay on the Earth, looked like a huge mountain cliff lying on the ground, loosened by the bolt of Indra.  When the elephant of Vajradatta was prostrated on the ground, the son of Pandu, addressing the king who had fallen down with his beast, said,—­’Do not fear.  Indeed, Yudhishthira of mighty energy said unto me while commissioning me for this task even these words,—­’Thou shouldst not, O Dhananjaya, slay those kings (who may encounter thee in battle).  O tiger among men, thou shouldst regard thy task as accomplished if only thou disablest those hostile kings.  Thou shouldst not also, O
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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.