(Chaitraratha Parva continued)
"The Brahmana continued, 'King (after this), distressed at heart, wandered among many asylums of Brahmanas in search of superior Brahmanas well-skilled in sacrificial rites. Overwhelmed with grief and eagerly yearning for children, the king always said, 'Oh, I have no offspring surpassing all in accomplishments.' And the monarch, from great despondency, always said 'Oh, fie on those children that I have and on my relatives!' And ever thinking of revenging himself on , the monarch sighed incessantly. And that best of kings, O Bharata, even after much deliberation, saw no way of overcoming, by his Kshatriya might, the prowess and discipline and training and accomplishment of . Wandering along the banks of the Yamuna and the , the monarch once came upon a sacred asylum of Brahmanas. There was in that asylum no Brahmana who was not a Snataka, no one who was not of rigid vows, and none who was not virtuous to a high degree. And the king saw there two Brahmana sages named and , both of rigid vows and souls under complete control and belonging to the most superior order. They were both devoted to the study of the ancient institutes and sprung from the race of . And those best of Brahmanas were well-able to help the king in the attainment of his object. The king then, with great assiduity and singleness of purpose, began to court this pair of excellent Brahmanas. Ascertaining the superior accomplishments of the younger of the two the king courted in private of rigid vows, by the offer of every desirable acquisition. Employed in paying homage to the feet of , always addressing in sweet words and offering him every object of human desire, , after worshipping that Brahmana, addressed him (one day), saying, 'O , O Brahmana, if thou you, performest perform those sacrificial rites by (virtue of) which I may obtain a son who may slay , I promise thee you ten thousand kine, or whatever else may be agreeable to thee you, O first of Brahmanas, truly am I ready to make gifts to thee you.' Thus addressed by the king, the Rishi replied, saying, 'I cannot (perform such rites).' But without accepting this reply as final, once more began to serve and pay homage unto to that Brahmana. Then, after the expiration of a year, , that first of Brahmanas, O monarch, addressing in sweet tone, said, 'My elder brother (), one day, while wandering through the deep woods, took up a fruit that had fallen upon a spot the purity of which he cared not to enquire about. I was following him (at the time) and observed this unworthy act of his. Indeed, he entertains no scruples in accepting things impure. In accepting that (particular) fruit he saw not any impropriety of sinful nature: Indeed, he who observeth observes not purity (in one instance) is not very likely to observe it in the other instances. When he lived in the house of his preceptor, employed in studying the institutes, he always used to eat (impure) remnants of other people's feasts. He always speaks approvingly of food and entertains no dislike for anything. Arguing from these, I believe that my brother covets earthy acquisitions. Therefore, O king, go unto to him; he will perform spiritual offices for thee you.' Hearing these words of , king , though entertaining a low opinion of , nevertheless went to his abode. Worshipping who was (still) worthy of homage, said unto to him, 'O master, perform thou you spiritual offices for me and I will give thee you eighty thousand kine! Enmity with burneth burns my heart; it behoveth behooves thee you therefore to cool that heart of mine. Foremost of those conversant with the Vedas, is also skilled in the weapon and for this, hath has overcome me in a contest arising from (impaired) friendship. Gifted with great intelligence, the son of is (now) the chief preceptor of the Kurus. There is no Kshatriya in this world superior to him. His bow is full six cubits long and looks formidable, and his shafts are capable of slaying every living being. That great bowman, the high-souled son of , habited as a Brahmana, is destroying the Kshatriya power all over the earth. Indeed, he is like a second Jamadagnya intended for the extermination of the Kshatriya race. There is no man on earth who can overcome the terrible force of his weapons. Like a blazing fire fed with clarified butter, , possessed of might and uniting it with Kshatriya might, consumeth consumes every antagonist in battle. But (thy your) force is greater in itself than ('s) force united with Kshatriya might. Therefore, as I am inferior (to ) in consequence of my possession of Kshatriya might alone, I solicit the aid of thy your force, having obtained thee you so superior to in knowledge of . O , perform that sacrifice by means of which I may obtain a son invincible in battle and capable of slaying . Ready am I to give thee you ten thousand kine.' Hearing these words of , said, 'So be it.' then began to recollect the various ceremonies appertaining to the particular sacrifice. And knowing the affair to be a very grave one, he asked the assistance of who coveted nothing. Then promised to perform the sacrifice for the destruction of . Then the great ascetic spoke unto to king of everything required for the grand sacrifice (by aid of fire) from which the king was to obtain offspring. And he said, 'O king, a child shall be born unto to thee you, endued, as thou you desirest, with great prowess, great energy, and great strength.'
"The Brahmana continued, 'Then king , impelled by the desire of obtaining a son who was to slay , began, for the success of his wish, to make the necessary preparations. (And when everything was complete) , after having poured libations of clarified butter on the sacrificial fire, commanded 's queen, saying, 'Come hither here, O queen, O daughter-in-law of ! A son and a daughter have arrived for thee you!' Hearing this, the queen said, 'O Brahmana, my mouth is yet filled with saffron and other perfumed things. My body also beareth bears many sweet scents; I am hardly fit for accepting (the sanctified butter which is to give me offspring). Wait for me a little, O ! Wait for that happy consummation.' , however, replied, 'O lady, whether thou you comest come or waitest wait, why should not the object of this sacrifice be accomplished when the oblation hath has already been prepared by me and sanctified by 's invocations?'
"The Brahmana continued, 'Having said this, poured the sanctified libation on the fire, whereupon arose from those flames a child resembling a celestial who possessing the effulgence of fire, was terrible to behold. With a crown on this head and his body encased in excellent armour, sword in hand, and bearing a bow and arrows, he frequently sent forth loud roars. And immediately after his birth, he ascended an excellent chariot and went about in it for some time. Then the Panchalas in great joy shouted, 'Excellent, Excellent.' The very earth seemed at that time unable to bear the weight of the Panchalas mad with joy. Then, marvellous to say, the voice of some invisible spirit in the skies said, 'This prince hath has been born for the destruction of . He shall dispel all the fears of the Panchalas and spread their fame. He shall also remove the sorrow of the king.' And there arose, after this from the centre of the sacrificial platform, a daughter also, called , who, blest with great good fortune, was exceedingly handsome. Her eyes were black, and large as lotus-petals, her complexion was dark, and her locks were blue and curly. Her nails were beautifully convex, and bright as burnished copper; her eye-brows were fair, and bosom was deep. Indeed, she resembled the veritable daughter of a celestial born among men. Her body gave out fragrance like that of a blue lotus, perceivable from a distance of full two miles. Her beauty was such that she had no equal on earth. Like a celestial herself, she could be desired (in marriage) by a celestial, a Danava, or a: Yaksha. When this girl of fair hips was born an incorporeal voice said, 'This dark-complexioned girl will be the first of all women, and she will be the cause of the destruction of many Kshatriyas. This slender-waisted one will, in time, accomplish the purpose of the gods, and along with her many a danger will overtake the Kauravas.' On hearing these words, the Panchalas uttered a loud leonine roar, and the earth was unable to bear the weight of that joyous concourse. Then beholding the boy and the girl, the daughter-in-law of , desiring to have them, approached and said, 'Let not these know any one else except myself as their mother.' , desiring to do good unto to the king said, 'So be it!' Then the Brahmanas (present there), their expectations fully gratified, bestowed names upon the new-born pair, 'Let this son of king , they said, be called , because of his excessive audacity and because of his being born like Dyumna with a natural mail and weapon.' And they also said, 'Because this daughter is so dark in complexion, she should be called (the dark).'
"The Brahmana continued, 'Thus were born those twins of the great sacrifice of . And the great , bringing the Panchala prince into his own abode, taught him all weapons in requital of half the kingdom he had formerly taken from . The high-souled son of , regarding destiny to be inevitable, did what would perpetuate his own great deeds.'"
(Chaitraratha Parva continued)
" said, 'Hearing these words of the Brahmana, the sons of seemed to be, as it were, pierced with darts. Indeed, all those mighty heroes lost their peace of mind. Then the truthful , beholding all her sons listless and inattentive, addressed and said, 'We have now lived many nights in the abode of this Brahmana. We have passed our time pleasantly in this town, living on the alms obtained from many honest and illustrious persons. O oppressor of foes, as we have now seen often and often all the agreeable woods and gardens that are in this part of the country, seeing them again would no longer give any pleasure. O heroic scion of Kuru's race, alms also are not now obtainable here as easily as before. If thou you wishest wish it would be well for us now to go to Panchala; we have not seen that country, it will, no doubt, O hero, prove delightful to us. O crusher of foes, it hath has been heard by us that alms are obtainable in the country of the Panchala, and that , the king thereof of it, is devoted to Brahmanas. I am of opinion that it is not good to live long in one place. Therefore, O son, if thou you likest like, it is good for us to go there.'
"Hearing these words, said, 'It is our duty to obey thy your command, which, besides, must be for our good, I do not, however, know whether my younger brothers are willing to go.'"
(Chaitraratha Parva continued)
" continued, 'Then spoke unto to and and the twins regarding the journey to Panchala. They all said, 'So be it.' Then, O king, with her sons saluted the Brahmana (in whose house they had dwelt) and set out for the delightful town of the illustrious .'
" said, 'While the illustrious Pandavas were living disguised in the abode of the Brahmana, , the son of , once went to see them. Those chastisers of foes, beholding him coming rose up and stepped onward to receive him. Saluting him reverentially and worshipping him also the Pandavas stood in silence with joined hands. Thus worshipped by them the sage became gratified. He asked them to be seated, and cheerfully addressing them said, 'Ye you slayers of foes, are ye you living in the path of virtue and according to the scriptures? Do ye you worship the Brahmanas? Ye you are not, I hope, backward in paying homage unto to those that deserve your homage?' The illustrious Rishi, after this, spoke many words of virtuous import, and after discoursing upon many topics of great interest, he said, 'An illustrious Rishi, living in a certain hermitage, had a daughter of tender waist, fair lips, and fine eye-brows, and possessing every accomplishment. As a consequence of her own acts (in a past life) the fair maid became very unfortunate. Though chaste and beautiful, the damsel obtained not a husband. With a sorrowful heart she thereupon then began to practise ascetic penances with the object of obtaining a husband. She soon gratified by her severe asceticism the god (), who became propitious unto to her and said unto to that illustrious damsel, 'Ask thou you the boon thou you desirest! Blest be thou you! I am prepared to give thee you what thou you wilt will ask.' Desirous of benefiting herself, the maid repeatedly said unto to the supreme lord, 'O give me, a husband endued with every accomplishment.' Then (), that foremost of all speakers, replied unto to her, saying, 'O blessed one, thou you shall have five husbands from among the Bharata princes.' Thus told, the maiden said unto to the god who had given her that boon, 'O lord, I desire to have only one husband through thy your grace.' The god then addressed her again and said these excellent words, 'Thou you hast have, O girl, said full five times, 'Give me (a) husband.' Thou you shalt shall, therefore, in another life have five husbands!' Ye you princes of 's line, that damsel of celestial beauty hath has been born in the line of . The faultless of 's line hath has been appointed to be the wife of you all. Ye you mighty ones, go therefore, to the capital of the Panchalas and dwell ye you there. There is no doubt that having obtained her as wife ye you shall be very happy.'
" continued, 'Having said so unto to the Pandavas, the illustrious and blessed then bade them farewell. The great ascetic then left them and went to the place whence from where he had come.'"