Mahabharata 05 (eng)..

UDYOGA PARAVA
SECTION XVIII
SECTION XVIII
Salya said, "Then Indra, glorified by the bands of Gandharvas and celestial nymphs, mounted on
Airavata, the king of elephants, characterised by auspicious marks. And the illustrious Agni, and the
great saint Vrihaspati, and Yama, and Varuna, and Kuvera, the lord of riches, accompanied him.
And the lord Sakra, the slayer of Vritra, then went to the three worlds surrounded by the gods together
with the Gandharvas and the celestial nymphs. And the performer of a hundred sacrifices, the
king of the deities, was thus united with his queen. And he began to protect the worlds with exceeding
gladness. Then the illustrious divine saint Angiras arrived in the assembly of Indra and worshipped
him duly by reciting the hymns of the Atharva. And the great lord Indra became satisfied
and granted a boon to the Atharvangiras. And Indra said, 'Thou wilt be known as a Rishi of the
name Atharvangiras in the Atharva Veda, and thou wilt also get a share in sacrifices.' And having
honoured Atharvangiras thus, the great lord Indra, the performer of a hundred sacrifices, parted with
him, O great king. And he honoured all the deities and all the saints endued with wealth of asceticism.
And, O king, Indra, well-pleased, governed the people virtuously. Thus was misery endured
by Indra with his wife. And with the view of slaying his foes, even he had to pass a period in concealment.
Thou shouldst not take it to heart that thou, O king of kings, hast suffered with Draupadi
as also with thy high-minded brothers in the great forest. O king of kings, O descendant of Bharata,
O delighter of Kuru's race, thou wilt get back thy kingdom in the same way as Indra got his, after
having killed Vritra. The vicious Nahusha, that enemy of Brahmanas, of evil mind, was overthrown
by the curse of Agastya, and reduced to nothing for endless years. Similarly, O slayer of foes, thy
enemies, Karna and Duryodhana and others of vicious souls will quickly be destroyed. Then, O
hero, thou wilt enjoy the whole of this earth, as far as the sea, with thy brothers and this Draupadi.
This story of the victory of Indra, equal to the Veda in its sacred character, should be listened to by
a king desirous of victory and when his forces have been arrayed in order of battle. Therefore, O
best of victors, I am reciting it to thee for thy victory, O Yudhishthira. High-souled persons attain
prosperity when they are glorified. O Yudhishthira, the destruction of high-souled Kshatriyas is at
hand by reason of the crimes of Duryodhana, and through the might also of Bhima and Arjuna. He
who readeth this story of Indra's victory with a heart full of religious faith, is cleansed of his sins,
attaineth a region of bliss, and obtaineth joy both in this world and in the next. He hath no fear of
his foes; he never becometh a sonless man, never encountereth any peril whatever, and enjoyeth
long life. Everywhere victory declareth for him, and he knoweth not what defeat is.'
Vaisampayana continued, 'O best of Bharata's race, the king, that best of righteous men, thus encouraged
by Salya, honoured him in proper form. And Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, of powerful
arms, having beard the words of Salya, spoke to the king of the Madras the following words, 'There
is no doubt that thou wilt act as the charioteer of Karna. Thou must damp the spirits of Karna then
by recounting the praises of Arjuna.'
Salya said, 'Let it be so. I shall do just as thou tellest me. And I shall do for thee anything else that I
may be able to do.'
Vaisampayana continued, 'Then Salya, the king of the Madras, bade farewell to the sons of Kunti.
And that handsome man then went with his army to Duryodhana, O repressor of foes.'"
SECTION XIX
Vaisampayana said, 'Then Yuyudhana, the great hero of the Satwata race, came to Yudhishthira
with a large army of foot, and horses and cars and elephants. And his soldiers of great valour come
from various lands, bore various weapons of war, and heroic in look they beautified the Pandava
army. And that army looked splendid by reason of battleaxes, and missiles and spears, and lances,
and mallets, and clubs, and staves, and cords, and stainless swords, and daggers, and arrows of various
kinds, all of the best temper. And the army, beautified by those weapons, and resembling in
colour the cloudy sky, assumed an appearance like to amass of clouds with lightning-flashes in its
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