The Mahabharata. Adi Parva, Section 137th. Sambhava Parva continued.
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Upon the Kuru king
and Bhima, the foremost of all endued with
strength, having entered the arena, the spectators
were divided into two parties in consequence
of the partiality swaying their affections.
Some cried, 'Behold the heroic king of the
Kurus!'--some--'Behold Bhima!'--And on account
of these cries, there was, all on a sudden,
a loud uproar.
And seeing the place become like a troubled
ocean, the intelligent Bharadwaja said unto
his dear son, Aswatthaman, 'Restrain both
these mighty warriors so proficient in arms.
Let not the ire of the assembly be provoked
by this combat of Bhima and Duryodhana.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Then the son of
the preceptor of the princes restrained those
combatants with their maces uplifted and resembling
two swollen oceans agitated by the winds that
blow at the universal dissolution.
And Drona himself entering the yard of the
arena commanded the musicians to stop, and
with a voice deep as that of the clouds addressed
these words, 'Behold ye now that Partha who
is dearer to me than my own son, the master
of all arms, the son of Indra himself, and
like unto the younger brother of Indra, (Vishnu)!
And having performed the propitiatory rites,
the youthful Phalguna, equipped with the finger
protector (gauntlet) and his quiver full of
shafts and bow in hand, donning his golden
mail, appeared in the lists even like an evening
cloud reflecting the rays of the setting sun
and illumined by the hues of the rainbow and
flashes of lightning.
"On seeing Arjuna, the whole assembly were
delighted and conchs began to be blown all
around with other musical instruments.
And there arose a great uproar in consequence
of the spectators' exclaiming,--'This is the
graceful son of Kunti!'--'This is the middle
(third) Pandava!'--'This is the son of the
mighty Indra!'--'This is the protector of
the Kurus'--'This is the foremost of those
versed in arms!'--'This is the foremost of
all cherishers of virtue!'--'This is the foremost
of the persons of correct behaviour, the great
repository of the knowledge of manners!'
At those exclamations, the tears of Kunti,
mixing with the milk of her breast, wetted
her bosom.
And his ears being filled with that uproar,
that first of men, Dhritarashtra, asked Vidura
in delight, 'O Kshatri, what is this great
uproar for, like unto that of the troubled
ocean, arising all on a sudden and rending
the very heavens?'
Vidura replied, 'O mighty monarch, the son
of Pandu and Pritha, Phalguna, clad in mail
hath entered the lists.
And hence this uproar!'
Dhritarashtra said, 'O thou of soul so great,
by the three fires sprung from Pritha who
is even like the sacred fuel, I have, indeed,
been blessed, favoured and protected!'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'When the spectators,
excited with delight, had somewhat regained
their equanimity, Vibhatsu began to display
his lightness in the use of weapons.
By the Agneya weapon, he created fire, and
by the Varuna weapon he created water, by
the Vayavya weapon, he created air, and by
the Parjanya weapon he created clouds.
And by the Bhauma weapon, he created land,
and by the Parvatya weapon, he brought mountains
into being.
By the Antardhana weapon all these were made
to disappear.
Now the beloved one of his preceptor (Arjuna)
appeared tall and now short; now he was seen
on the yoke of his car, and now on the car
itself; and the next moment he was on the
ground.
And the hero favoured by his practised dexterity,
hit with his various butts--some tender, some
fine and some of thick composition.
And like one shaft, he let fly at a time into
the mouth of a moving iron-boar five shafts
together from his bow-string.
And that hero of mighty energy discharged
one and twenty arrows into the hollow of a
cow's horn hung up on a rope swaying to and
fro.
In this manner, O sinless one, Arjuna showed
his profound skill in the use of sword, bow,
and mace, walking over the lists in circles.
"And, O Bharata, when the exhibition had well-nigh
ended, the excitement of the spectators had
cooled, and the sounds of instruments had
died out there was heard proceeding from the
gate, the slapping of arms, betokening might
and strength, and even like unto the roar
of the thunder.
And, O king, as soon as this sound was heard,
the assembled multitude instantly thought,
'Are the mountains splitting or is the earth
itself rending asunder, or is the welkin resounding
with the roar of gathering clouds?
And then all the spectators turned their eyes
towards the gate.
And Drona stood, surrounded by the five brothers,
the sons of Pritha, and looked like the moon
in conjunction with the five-starred constellation
Hasta.
And Duryodhana, that slayer of foes, stood
up in haste and was surrounded by his century
of haughty brothers with Aswatthaman amongst
them.
And that prince, mace in hand, thus surrounded
by his hundred brothers with uplifted weapons
appeared like Purandara in days of yore, encircled
by the celestial host on the occasion of the
battle with the Danavas.'" ...
