The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 4.5: pañcamo'dhyāyaḥ

4.5.1

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |
te vīrā baddhanistriṃśāstatāyudhakalāpinaḥ |
baddhagodhāṅgulitrāṇāḥ kālindīmabhito yayuḥ || 1 ||

Vaisampayana said, "Girding their waists with swords, and equipped with finger-protectors made of iguana skins and with various weapons, those heroes proceeded in the direction of the river Yamuna. And those bowmen desirous of (speedily) recovering their kingdom, hitherto living in inaccessible hills and forest fastnesses, now terminated their forest-life and proceeded to the southern bank of that river. And those mighty warriors endued with great strength and hitherto leading the lives of hunters by killing the deer of the forest, passed through Yakrilloma and Surasena, leaving behind, on their right, the country of the Panchalas, and on their left, that of the Dasarnas. And those bowmen, looking wan and wearing beards and equipped with swords, entered Matsya's dominions leaving the forest, giving themselves out as hunters. And on arriving at that country, Krishna addressed Yudhishthira, saying, 'We see footpaths here, and various fields. From this it appears that Virata's metropolis is still at a distance. Pass we here what part of the night is still left, for great is my fatigue."

4.5.2

tataste dakṣiṇaṃ tīramanvagacchanpadātayaḥ |
vasanto giridurgeṣu vanadurgeṣu dhanvinaḥ || 2 ||

4.5.3

vidhyanto mṛgajātāni maheṣvāsā mahābalāḥ |
uttareṇa daśārṇāṃste pāñcālāndakṣiṇena tu || 3 ||

4.5.4

antareṇa yakṛllomāñśūrasenāṃśca pāṇḍavāḥ |
lubdhā bruvāṇā matsyasya viṣayaṃ prāviśanvanāt || 4 ||

4.5.5

tato janapadaṃ prāpya kṛṣṇā rājānamabravīt |
paśyaikapadyo dṛśyante kṣetrāṇi vividhāni ca || 5 ||

4.5.6

vyaktaṃ dūre virāṭasya rājadhānī bhaviṣyati |
vasāmeha parāṃ rātriṃ balavānme pariśramaḥ || 6 ||

4.5.7

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
dhanaṃjaya samudyamya pāñcālīṃ vaha bhārata |
rājadhānyāṃ nivatsyāmo vimuktāśca vanāditaḥ || 7 ||

Yudhishthira answered, "O Dhananjaya of Bharata's race, do thou take up Panchali and carry her. Just on emerging from this forest, we arrive at the city."

4.5.8

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |
tāmādāyārjunastūrṇaṃ draupadīṃ gajarāḍiva |
saṃprāpya nagarābhyāśamavatārayadarjunaḥ || 8 ||

Vaisampayana continued, "Thereupon like the leader of a herd of elephants, Arjuna speedily took up Draupadi, and on coming to the vicinity of the city, let her down. And on reaching the city, Ruru's son (Yudhishthira), addressed Arjuna, saying, 'Where shall we deposit our weapons, before entering the city? If, O child, we enter it with our weapons about us, we shall thereby surely excite the alarm of the citizens. Further, the tremendous bow, the Gandiva, is known to all men, so that people will, without doubt, recognise us soon. And if even one of us is discovered, we shall, according to promise, have to pass another twelve years in the forest.'"

4.5.9

sa rājadhānīṃ saṃprāpya kaunteyo'rjunamabravīt |
kvāyudhāni samāsajya pravekṣyāmaḥ puraṃ vayam || 9 ||

4.5.10

sāyudhāśca vayaṃ tāta pravekṣyāmaḥ puraṃ yadi |
samudvegaṃ janasyāsya kariṣyāmo na saṃśayaḥ || 10 ||

4.5.11

tato dvādaśa varṣāṇi praveṣṭavyaṃ vanaṃ punaḥ |
ekasminnapi vijñāte pratijñātaṃ hi nastathā || 11 ||

4.5.12

arjuna uvāca |
iyaṃ kūṭe manuṣyendra gahanā mahatī śamī |
bhīmaśākhā durārohā śmaśānasya samīpataḥ || 12 ||

Arjuna said, "Hard by yon cemetery and near that inaccessible peak is a mighty Sami tree, throwing-about its gigantic branches and difficult to ascend. Nor is there any human being, who, I think, O Pandu's son, will espy us depositing our arms at that place. That tree is in the midst of an out-of-the way forest abounding in beasts and snakes, and is in the vicinity of a dreary cemetery. Stowing away our weapons on the Sami tree, let us, O Bharata, go to the city, and live there, free from anxiety!"

4.5.13

na cāpi vidyate kaścinmanuṣya iha pārthiva |
utpathe hi vane jātā mṛgavyālaniṣevite || 13 ||

4.5.14

samāsajyāyudhānyasyāṃ gacchāmo nagaraṃ prati |
evamatra yathājoṣaṃ vihariṣyāma bhārata || 14 ||

4.5.15

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |
evamuktvā sa rājānaṃ dharmātmānaṃ yudhiṣṭhiram |
pracakrame nidhānāya śastrāṇāṃ bharatarṣabha || 15 ||

Vaisampayana continued, "Having O bull of the Bharata race spoken thus to king Yudhishthira the just, Arjuna prepared to deposit the weapons (on the tree). And that bull among the Kurus, then loosened the string of the large and dreadful Gandiva, ever producing thundering twang and always destructive of hostile hosts, and with which he had conquered, on a single car, gods and men and Nagas and swelling provinces. And the warlike Yudhishthira, that represser of foes, unfastened the undecaying string of that bow with which he had defended the field of Kurukshstra. And the illustrious Bhimasena unstrung that bow by means of which that sinless one had vanquished in fight the Panchals and the lord of Sindhu, and with which, during his career of conquest, he had, single-handed, opposed innumerable foes, and hearing whose twang which was like unto the roar of the thunder or the splitting of a mountain, enemies always fly (in panic) from the field of battle. And that son of Pandu of coppery complexion and mild speech who is endued with great prowess in the field, and is called Nakula in consequence of his unexampled beauty in the family, then unfastened the string of that bow with which he had conquered all the regions of the west. And the heroic Sahadeva also, possessed of a mild disposition, then united the string of that bow with which he had subjugated the countries of the south. And with their bows, they put together their long and flashing swords, their precious quivers, and their arrows sharp as razors. And Nakula ascended the tree, and deposited on it the bows and the other 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 Yudhisthira kept these (five) names for himself and his brothers respectively, viz., Jaya, Jayanta, Vijaya, Jayatsena, and Jayatvala. Then they entered the great city, with the view to passing the thirteenth year undiscovered in that kingdom, agreeably to the promise (to Duryodhana)."

4.5.16

yena devānmanuṣyāṃśca sarpāṃścaikaratho'jayat |
sphītāñjanapadāṃścānyānajayatkurunandanaḥ || 16 ||

4.5.17

tadudāraṃ mahāghoṣaṃ sapatnagaṇasūdanam |
apajyamakarotpārtho gāṇḍīvamabhayaṃkaram || 17 ||

4.5.18

yena vīraḥ kurukṣetramabhyarakṣatparaṃtapaḥ |
amuñcaddhanuṣastasya jyāmakṣayyāṃ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ || 18 ||

4.5.19

pāñcālānyena saṃgrāme bhīmaseno'jayatprabhuḥ |
pratyaṣedhadbahūnekaḥ sapatnāṃścaiva digjaye || 19 ||

4.5.20

niśamya yasya visphāraṃ vyadravanta raṇe pare |
parvatasyeva dīrṇasya visphoṭamaśaneriva || 20 ||

4.5.21

saindhavaṃ yena rājānaṃ parāmṛṣata cānagha |
jyāpāśaṃ dhanuṣastasya bhīmaseno'vatārayat || 21 ||

4.5.22

ajayatpaścimāmāśāṃ dhanuṣā yena pāṇḍavaḥ |
tasya maurvīmapākarṣacchūraḥ saṃkrandano yudhi || 22 ||

4.5.23

dakṣiṇāṃ dakṣiṇācāro diśaṃ yenājayatprabhuḥ |
apajyamakarodvīraḥ sahadevastadāyudham || 23 ||

4.5.24

khaḍgāṃśca pītāndīrghāṃśca kalāpāṃśca mahādhanān |
vipāṭhānkṣuradhārāṃśca dhanurbhirnidadhuḥ saha || 24 ||

4.5.25

tāmupāruhya nakulo dhanūṃṣi nidadhatsvayam |
yāni tasyāvakāśāni dṛḍharūpāṇyamanyata || 25 ||

4.5.26

yatra cāpaśyata sa vai tiro varṣāṇi varṣati |
tatra tāni dṛḍhaiḥ pāśaiḥ sugāḍhaṃ paryabandhata || 26 ||

4.5.27

śarīraṃ ca mṛtasyaikaṃ samabadhnanta pāṇḍavāḥ |
vivarjayiṣyanti narā dūrādeva śamīmimām |
ābaddhaṃ śavamatreti gandhamāghrāya pūtikam || 27 ||

4.5.28

aśītiśatavarṣeyaṃ mātā na iti vādinaḥ |
kuladharmo'yamasmākaṃ pūrvairācarito'pi ca |
samāsajānā vṛkṣe'sminniti vai vyāharanti te || 28 ||

4.5.29

ā gopālāvipālebhya ācakṣāṇāḥ paraṃtapāḥ |
ājagmurnagarābhyāśaṃ pārthāḥ śatrunibarhaṇāḥ || 29 ||

4.5.30

jayo jayanto vijayo jayatseno jayadbalaḥ |
iti guhyāni nāmāni cakre teṣāṃ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ || 30 ||

4.5.31

tato yathāpratijñābhiḥ prāviśannagaraṃ mahat |
ajñātacaryāṃ vatsyanto rāṣṭre varṣaṃ trayodaśam || 31 ||