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"Dhritarashtra said, 'What did that Pandava king, the son of Dharma, say, O Sanjaya, after hearing that a large force hath been assembled here for gladdening us? How also is Yudhishthira acting, in view of the coming strife, O Suta, who amongst his brothers and sons are looking up to his face, desirous of receiving his orders? Provoked as he is by the deceptions of my wicked sons, who, again, are dissuading that king of virtuous behaviour and conversant with virtue, saying,--Have peace?'
"Sanjaya said, 'All the Panchalas, along with the other sons of Pandu, are looking up to Yudhishthira's face, blessed be thou, and he too is restraining them all. Multitudes of cars belonging to the Pandavas and the Panchalas are coming in separate bodies for gladdening Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, ready to march to the field of battle. As the sky brightens up at the advent of the rising sun, so the Panchalas are rejoicing at their union with Kunti's son of blazing splendour, risen like a flood of light. The Panchalas, the Kekayas, and the Matsyas, along with the very herdsmen that attend on their kine and sheep, are rejoicing and gladdening Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu. Brahmana and Kshatriya girls and the very daughters of the Vaisyas, in large number, are coming in playful mood for beholding Partha accounted in coat of mail.'
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Tell us, O Sanjaya, of the forces of Dhrishtadyumna, as also of the Somakas, and of all others, with which the Pandavas intend to fight with us.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus interrogated, in the midst of the Kurus and in their very hall, the son of Gavalgana' became thoughtful for a moment and seemed to draw repeatedly deep and long sights; and suddenly he fell down in a swoon without any apparent reason. Then in that assembly of kings, Vidura said loudly, 'Sanjaya, O great king, hath fallen down on the ground senseless, and cannot utter a word, bereft of sense and his intellect clouded.'
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Without doubt, Sanjaya, having seen those mighty car-warriors, the sons of Kunti, hath his mind filled with great anxiety in consequence of those tigers among men.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Having recovered consciousness, and being comforted, Sanjaya addressed king Dhritarashtra in the midst of that concourse of Kurus in that hall, saying, 'Indeed, O king of kings, I saw those great warriors, the sons of Kunti, thinned in body, in consequence of the restraint in which they had lived in the place of the king of the Matsyas. Hear, O King, with whom the Pandavas will contend against you. With that hero Dhrishtadyumna as their ally, they will fight against you. With that personage of virtuous soul, who never forsaketh truth through anger or fear, temptation, or for the sake of wealth, of disputation; and who is, O King, a very authority in matters of religion, himself being the best of those that practise virtue;--with him, who hath never made an enemy, the sons of Pandu will fight against you.' He unto whom no one on earth is equal in might of arms, and who, wielding his bow had brought all kings under subjection, and who, vanquishing of old all the people of Kasi and Anga and Magadha, as also the Kalingas;--with that Bhimasena will the sons of Pandu fight against, you. Indeed, he through whose might the four sons of Pandu quickly could alight on the earth, having issued forth from the (burning) house of lac that son of Kunti, Vrikodara, who became the means of their rescue from the cannibal Hidimva; that son of Kunti, Vrikodara, who became their refuge when the daughter of Yajnasena was being carried away by Jayadratha; indeed, with that Bhima. who rescued the assembled Pandavas from the conflagration at Varanavata; even with him (as their ally) will they fight against you. He, who for the gratification of Krishna slew the Krodhavasas, having penetrated the rugged and terrible mountains of Gandhamadana, he to whose arms hath been imparted the might of ten thousand elephants; with that Bhimasena (as their ally) the Pandavas will fight against you. That hero, who, for the gratification of Agni, with Krishna only for his second, bravely vanquished of yore Purandara in fight; he who gratified by combat that God of gods, the trident-bearing lord of Uma--Mahadeva himself having the mountains for his abode; that foremost of warriors who subjugated all the kings of the earth--with that Vijaya (as their ally) the Pandavas will encounter you in battle. That wonderful warrior Nakula, who vanquished the whole of the western world teeming with Mlechchas, is present in the Pandava camp. With that handsome hero, that unrivalled bowman, that son of Madri, O Kauravya, the Pandavas will fight against you. He who vanquished in battle the warriors of Kasi, Anga, and Kalinga,--with that Sahadeva will the Pandavas encounter you in battle. He, who in energy hath for his equals only four men on earth, viz., Aswatthaman and Dhrishtaketu and Rukmi and Pradyumna,--with that Sahadeva, youngest in years, that hero among men, that gladdener of Madri's heart, with him, O King, will you have a destructive battle. She, who,
while living of yore as the daughter of the king of Kasi, had practised the austerest penances; she, who, O bull of the Bharata race, desiring even in a subsequent life to compass the destruction of Bhishma, took her birth as the daughter of Panchala, and accidentally became afterwards a male; who, O tiger among men, is conversant with the merits and demerits of both sexes; that invincible prince of the Panchala who encountered the Kalingas in battle, with what Sikhandin skilled in every weapon, will the Pandavas fight against you. She whom a Yaksha for Bhishma's destruction metamorphosed into a male, with that formidable bowman will the Pandavas fight against you. With those mighty bowmen, all, brothers those five Kekaya princes, with those heroes clad in mail will the Pandavas fight against you. With that warrior of long arms: endued with great activity in the use of weapons, possessed of intelligence and prowess incapable of being baffled, with that Yuyudhana, the lion of the Vrishni race, will you have to fight. He, who had been the refuge of the high-souled Pandavas for a time, with that Virata, will ye have an encounter in battle. The lord of Kasi, that mighty car-warrior who ruleth in Varanasi hath become an ally of theirs; with him the Pandavas will fight against you. The high-souled sons of Draupadi, tender in years but invincible in battle, and unapproachable like snakes of virulent poison, with them, will the Pandavas fight against you. He, that in energy is like unto Krishna and in self-restraint unto Yudhishthira, with that Abhimanyu, will the Pandavas fight against you. That war-like son of Sisupala, Dhrishtaketu of great fame, who in energy is beyond comparison and who when angry is incapable of being withstood in battle, with that king of the Chedis who has joined the Pandavas at the head of an Akshauhini of his own, will the sons of Pandu fight against you. He that is the refuge of the Pandavas, even as Vasava is of the celestials, with that Vasudeva, the Pandavas will fight against you. He also, O bull of Bharata race, Sarabha the brother of the king of the Chedis, who again is united with Karakarsa, with both these, the Pandavas will fight against you. Sahadeva, the son of Jarasandha, and Jayatsena, both unrivalled heroes in battle, are resolved upon fighting for the Pandavas. And Drupada too, possessed of great might, and followed by a large force, and reckless of his life, is resolved to fight for the Pandavas. Relying upon these and other kings by hundreds, of both the eastern and northern countries, king Yudhishthira the just, is prepared for battle.'"