“Vaishampaayana said, ‘When the king (Drupada) expressed his desire of giving his daughter (Draupadi) on that Brahmana (Arjuna), all those monarchs who had been invited
to the Swayamvara, looking at one another, were suddenly filled with anger.
“They said, ‘Passing us by and treating the assembled monarchs as straw,
this Drupada desires to give his daughter -- that first of women -- on a
Brahmana! Having planted the tree (referring to Draupadi here), he (Drupada) cuts it down when it is about to bear fruit. The wretch (Drupada) does not regard us; therefore let us slay
him. He (Drupada) does not deserve our
respect or the respect due to age. Owing to such qualities of his, we shall,
therefore, slay this wretch (Drupada)
that insults all kings, along with his son (Dhrishtadyumna). Inviting all the monarchs and
entertaining them with excellent food, he disregards us at last. In this
assembly of monarchs, like to an assembly of Devas, does he (Drupada) not see a single monarch equal to 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
lady. Or, O kings, if this lady (Draupadi) desires not to select any one of us as her husband, let us put her
into the fire and return to our kingdoms. As regards this Brahmana (Arjuna), although he has, from aggression or greed,
done this injury to the monarchs, he should not yet be slain; because our
kingdoms, lives, treasures, sons, grandsons, and whatever other wealth we have,
all exist for Brahmanas. Something must be done here (even to him), so that from fear of disgrace and the
desire of maintaining what properly belongs to each varna, other Swayamvaras may
not end in this way.’
“Having addressed one another thus, those tigers among monarchs
endued with weapons like to spiked iron maces (Gada in Hindi), took up their weapons and rushed at
Drupada to slay him then and there. Drupada seeing 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 punishing all enemies,
advanced to oppose those monarchs rushing towards them violently 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 removed it of
its leaves. With that tree, the strong-armed Bhima, the son of Pritha (son
of Kunti), that grinder of enemies, stood,
like to the mace (Gada in Hindi)-bearing
king of the dead (Yama) armed with
his fierce mace (Gada in Hindi),
near Arjuna that bull amongst men. Seeing that feat of his brother, Jishnu (Arjuna) of extraordinary intelligence, himself
also of unimaginable achievement, wondered much. Equal to (Lord) Indra himself in achievements, shaking off
all fear he stood with his bow ready to receive those assailants.
“Looking those feats of both Jishnu (Arjuna) and his brother (Bhimasena),
Daamodara (Sri Krishna) of
superhuman intelligence and unimaginable achievements, addressing his brother,
Halaayudha (Balarama) of fierce
energy, said, ‘That hero (Veera in Sanskrit) there, of walk like that of a mighty lion, who draws the large bow in
his hand four full cubits in length, is Arjuna! There is no doubt, O
Sankarshana (Balarama), about this,
if I am Vaasudeva (Sri Krishna). That
other veera who having speedily torn up the tree has suddenly become ready to
drive off the monarchs is Vrikodara (Bhimasena)! For no one in the world, except Vrikodara, could today perform such a
feat in the battlefield. That other youth of eyes like unto lotus-petals, of
full four cubits height, of walk like that of a mighty lion, and in addition humble,
of fair complexion and prominent and shining nose, who had, a little before,
left the arena, is Dharmaraja (Yudhishthira). The two other youths, like to Kaartikeya (Lord Murugan), are, I suspect, the sons of the twin Ashwins
(Nakula and Sahadeva). I heard that
the Pandavas along with their mother Pritha (Kunti) had all escaped from the conflagration of the house of lac.’
“Then Halaayudha (Balarama)
of complexion like to that of clouds uncharged with rain, addressing his
younger brother (Sri Krishna), said
with great satisfaction, ‘O, I am happy to hear, as I do from sheer good
fortune, that our father’s sister Pritha (Kunti) with the foremost of the Kaurava princes have all escaped (from
death)!’”
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