Mahabharata 05 (eng)..

UDYOGA PARAVA
SECTION X
ceeding to the abode of Vishnu, in company with that high-souled Being must we consult, and ascertain
the means of slaying this ruthless wretch.'
Salya continued, 'Indra having thus spoken, the gods with that host of Rishis repaired to the mighty
god Vishnu to place themselves under the-protection of that protector of all. And afflicted with the
dread of Vritra, they said unto the Supreme Lord of the deities. Thou hadst in former times covered
the three worlds with three steps. Thou hadst procured the ambrosial food, O Vishnu, and destroyed
the Asuras in battle. Thou didst bind the great Asura Vali and hadst raised Indra to the throne of
heaven. Thou art the lord of the gods, and this entire universe is pervaded by thee. Thou art the
God, the mighty Deity, saluted by all persons. Be thou the refuge of all the celestials together with
Indra, O best of gods. The whole universe, O slayer of Asuras, hath been pervaded by Vritra. And
Vishnu said, 'I am no doubt bound to do what is for your good. I shall, therefore, tell you of a contrivance
whereby he may be annihilated. Do ye with the Rishis and the Gandharvas repair to the
place where Vritra that bearer of a universal form is and adopt towards him a conciliatory policy.
You will thus succeed in overthrowing him. By virtue of my power, victory, ye gods, will be won
by Indra, for, remaining invisible, I shall enter into his thunderbolt, that best of weapons. O foremost
of gods, depart ye with the Rishis and the Gandharvas. Let there be no delay in effecting a
peace between Indra and Vritra.'
Salya continued, 'When he had thus spoken, the Rishis and the celestials placed Indra at their head,
and uniting together, went away. Approaching Indra they behold Vritra glowing and resplendent as
if scorching the ten points, and swallowing all the three worlds, and resembling the sun or the
moon. And then the Rishis, came up to Vritra and spoke to him in conciliatory terms, saying, 'O
thou unconquerable being, the whole of this universe hath been pervaded by thy energy. Thou art
not able however to overpower Indra, O best of mighty beings. A long period hath now elapsed
since you began to fight. All beings, with the gods and the Asuras and men, are suffering from the
effects of the fight. Let there be eternal friendship between thee and Indra. Thou shalt be happy and
shall dwell eternally in Indra's regions.' And the mighty Vritra having heard the words of the saints,
bowed his head unto them. And the Asura (thus) spoke, 'What you, O highly-gifted beings, and also
all these Gandharvas are saying, I have heard. Ye stainless beings, hear also what I have got to say.
How can there be peace between us two, Indra and myself? How can there be friendship, ye gods,
between two hostile powers?' The Rishis said, 'Friendship among righteous persons happens at a
single meeting. It is a desirable object. Thereafter will happen what is fated to be. The opportunity
of forming friendship with a righteous person should not be sacrificed. Therefore, the friendship of
the righteous should be sought. The friendship of the righteous is (like) excellent wealth, for he that
is wise would give advice when it is needed. The friendship of a good person is of great use; therefore,
a wise person should not desire to kill a righteous one. Indra is honoured by the righteous, and
is the refuge of magnanimous persons, being veracious and unblamable, and knows what virtue is,
and is possessed of a refined judgment. Let there be eternal friendship between thee and Indra, as
described above. In this way, have faith (in him); let not thy heart be differently inclined.'
Salya said, 'Hearing these words of the great Rishis, the illustrious Asura spoke to them, 'No doubt,
the Rishis, endued with supernatural powers, are to be respected by me. Let what I am going to say,
ye gods, be performed in its entirety; then I shall do everything that (these) best of Brahmanas have
said to me. Ye lords of the Brahmana race, ordain so that Indra himself or the gods do not kill me
by what is dry, or wet; by stone, or by wood; by a weapon fit for close fight, or by a missile; in the
day time, or at night. On those terms eternal peace with Indra would be acceptable to me, – Very
good! was what the Rishis told him, O best of Bharata race.' Thus peace having been concluded,
Vritra was very much pleased. And Indra also became pleased though constantly occupied with the
thought of killing Vritra. And the chief of the deities passed his time in search of a loophole, uneasy
(in mind). And on a certain day when it was evening and the hour awful, Indra caught sight of the
mighty Asura on the coast of the sea. And he bethought himself of the boon that was granted to the
illustrious Asura, saying, 'This is the awful evening time; it is neither day, nor night; and this Vritra,
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