The Mahabharata. Adi Parva, Section 136th. Sambhava Parva continued.
"Vaisampayana said, 'O thou of Bharata's race,
beholding the sons of Dhritarashtra and Pandu
accomplished in arms, Drona, O monarch, addressed
king Dhritarashtra, in the presence of Kripa,
Somadatta, Valhika, the wise son of Ganga
(Bhishma), Vyasa, and Vidura, and said, 'O
best of Kuru kings, thy children have completed
their education.
With thy permission, O king, let them now
show their proficiency.'
Hearing him, the king said with a gladdened
heart, 'O best of Brahmanas, thou hast, indeed,
accomplished a great deed.
Command me thyself as to the place and the
time where and when and the manner also in
which the trial may be held.
Grief arising from my own blindness maketh
me envy those who, blessed with sight, will
behold my children's prowess in arm.
O Kshatri (Vidura), do all that Drona sayeth.
O thou devoted to virtue, I think there is
nothing that can be more agreeable to me.'
Then Vidura, giving the necessary assurance
to the king, went out to do what he was bid.
And Drona endued with great wisdom, then measured
out a piece of land that was void of trees
and thickets and furnished with wells and
springs.
And upon the spot of land so measured out,
Drona, that first of eloquent men, selecting
a lunar day when the star ascendant was auspicious,
offered up sacrifice unto the gods in the
presence of the citizens assembled by proclamation
to witness the same.
And then, O bull among men, the artificers
of the king built thereon a large and elegant
stage according to the rules laid down in
the scriptures, and it was furnished with
all kinds of weapons.
They also built another elegant hall for the
lady-spectators.
And the citizens constructed many platforms
while the wealthier of them pitched many spacious
and high tents all around.
"When the day fixed for the Tournament came,
the king accompanied by his ministers, with
Bhishma and Kripa, the foremost of preceptors,
walking ahead, came unto that theatre of almost
celestial beauty constructed of pure gold,
and decked with strings of pearls and stones
of lapis lazuli.
And, O first of victorious men, Gandhari blessed
with great good fortune and Kunti, and the
other ladies of the royal house-hold, in gorgeous
attire and accompanied by their waiting women,
joyfully ascended the platforms, like celestial
ladies ascending the Sumeru mountain.
And the four orders including the Brahmanas
and Kshatriyas, desirous of beholding the
princes' skill in arms, left the city and
came running to the spot.
And so impatient was every one to behold the
spectacle, that the vast crowd assembled there
in almost an instant.
And with the sounds of trumpets and drums
and the noise of many voices, that vast concourse
appeared like an agitated ocean.
"At last, Drona accompanied by his son, dressed
in white (attire), with a white sacred thread,
white locks, white beard, white garlands,
and white sandal-paste rubbed over his body,
entered the lists.
It seemed as if the Moon himself accompanied
by the planet Mars appeared in an unclouded
sky.
On entering Bharadwaja performed timely worship
and caused Brahmanas versed in mantras to
celebrate the auspicious rites.
And after auspicious and sweet-sounding musical
instruments had been struck up as a propitiatory
ceremony, some persons entered, equipped with
various arms.
And then having girded up their loins, those
mighty warriors, those foremost ones of Bharata's
race (the princes) entered, furnished with
finger-protectors (gauntlet), and bows, and
quivers.
And with Yudhishthira at their head, the valiant
princes entered in order of age and began
to show wonderful skill with their weapons.
Some of the spectators lowered their heads,
apprehending fall of arrows while others fearlessly
gazed on with wonder.
And riding swiftly on horses and managing
them 'dexterously' the princes began to hit
marks with shafts engraved with their respective
names.
And seeing the prowess of the princes armed
with bows and arrows, the spectators thought
that they were beholding the city of the Gandharvas,
became filled with amazement.
And, O Bharata, all on a sudden, some hundreds
and thousands, with eyes wide open in wonder,
exclaimed, 'Well done!
Well done!'
And having repeatedly displayed their skill
and dexterity in the use of bows and arrows
and in the management of cars, the mighty
warriors took up their swords and bucklers,
and began to range the lists, playing their
weapons.
The spectators saw (with wonder) their agility,
the symmetry of their bodies, their grace,
their calmness, the firmness of their grasp
and their deftness in the use of sword and
buckler.
Then Vrikodara and Suyodhana, internally delighted
(at the prospect of fight), entered the arena,
mace in hand, like two single-peaked mountains.
And those mighty-armed warriors braced their
loins, and summoning all their energy, roared
like two infuriate elephants contending for
a cow-elephant; and like two infuriated elephants
those mighty heroes faultlessly (in consonance
with the dictates of the science of arm) careered
right and left, circling the lists.
And Vidura described to Dhritarashtra and
the mother of the Pandavas (Kunti) and Gandhari,
all the feats of the princes.'" ...
