The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section 113

Section CXIII. ( *Sambhava Parva continued*. ) Vaisampayana continued, "Sometime after, Bhisma the intelligent son of Shantanu set his heart upon marrying Pandu, to a second wife. And accompanied by an army composed of four kinds of force, and also by aged councillors and Brahmanas and great Rishis, he went to the capital of the king of Madra. And that bull of the Valhikas—the king of Madra—hearing that Bhisma had arrived, went out to receive him. And having received him with respect, he caused him to enter his palace. And arrived there, the king of Madra gave unto Bhisma a white carpet for seat, water for washing his feet, and the usual oblations of various ingredients indicative of respect. And when he was seated at his ease, the king asked him the reason of his visit. Then Bhisma—the supporter of the dignity of the Kurus—addressed the king of Madra and said, 'O thou oppressor of all foes, know that I have come for the hand of a maiden. It hath been heard by us that thou bast a sister named Madri celebrated for her beauty and endued with every virtue. I would choose her for Pandu. Thou art, O king, every way worthy of an alliance with us, and we also are worthy of thee! Reflecting upon all this, O king of Madra, accept us duly.' The ruler of Madra, thus addressed by Bhisma, then replied, 'To my mind, there is none else than one of thy family a better one to make alliance with. But there is a custom in our family acted upon by our ancestors, which, be it good or be it evil, I am incapable of transgressing. It is well-known, and therefore is known to thee as well, I doubt not. Therefore, it is not proper for thee to tell me,—*Bestow thy sister*.—The custom to which I allude is our family custom. That with us is virtue and worthy of observance. It is for this only, O thou slayer of all foes, I cannot give thee any assurance in the matter of thy request.' Hearing this, Bhisma answered the king of Madra, saying, 'O king, this, no doubt, is virtue. The Self-create himself hath said it. Thy ancestors have observed the custom. There is no fault to find with it. It is also well-known, O Shalya, that this custom in respect of family dignity hath the approval of the wise and the good.' Saying this, Bhisma of great energy, gave unto Shalya much gold both coined and uncoined, and precious stones of various colors by thousands, and elephants and horses, and cars and much cloth and many ornaments, and gems and pearls and corals. And Shalya accepting with a cheerful heart those precious gifts then gave away his sister decked in ornaments unto that bull of the Kuru race, Then the wise Bhisma, the son of the oceangoing Ganga, rejoiced at the issue of his mission, and taking Madri with him, returned to the Kuru capital named after the elephant. "Then selecting an auspicious day and moment as indicated by the wise for the ceremony, king Pandu was duly united with Madri. And after the nuptials were over, the Kuru king established his beautiful bride in handsome apartments: And, O king of kings, that best of monarchs then gave himself up to enjoyment in the company of his two wives as best he liked and to the limit of his desires. And after thirty days had elapsed, the Kuru king, O monarch, started from his capital for the conquest of the world. And after reverentially saluting and bowing to Bhisma and other elders of the Kuru race, and with adieus to Dhrita-rashtra and others of the family, and obtaining their leave, he set out on his grand campaign, accompanied by a large force of elephants, horses; and cars, and well-pleased with the blessings uttered by all around and the auspicious rites performed by the citizens for his success. And Pandu, accompanied by such a strong force marched against various foes. And that tiger among men—that spreader of the fame of the Kurus—first subjugated the robber tribes of *Dasharna*. He next turned his army composed of innumerable elephants, cavalry, infantry, and chariots, with standards of various colors, against, Dhirgha—the ruler of the kingdom of Maghadha—who, proud of his strength, had offended against numerous monarchs. And attacking him in his capital, Pandu slew him there, and took everything in his treasury and also vehicles and draught animals without number. He then marched into Mithila and subjugated the Videhas. And then, O thou bull among men, Pandu led his army against Kasi, Sumbha, and Pundra, and by the strength and prowess of his arms he spread the fame of the Kurus. And Pandu—that oppressor of all foes—like unto a mighty fire whose far-reaching flames were represented by his arrows, and splendour by his weapons, began to consume all kings that came in contact with him, And these with their forces, being vanquished by Pandu at the head of his, were made the vassals of the Kurus, And all the kings of the world, thus vanquished by him, regarded him as the one only hero on earth even as the celestials regard Indra in heaven. And the kings of the earth with joined palms bowed to him and waited on him with presents of various kinds of gems and wealth—precious stones and pearls and corals, and much gold and silver, and first-class kine and handsome horses and fine cars and elephants, and asses and camels and buffaloes, and goats and sheep, and blankets and beautiful hides, and carpets made of the skin of the Ranku deer, And the king of Hastinapore accepting those offerings retraced his steps towards his capital to the great delight of his subjects. And the citizens and others filled with joy, and kings and ministers, all began to say, 'O the fame of the achievements of Shantanu, that tiger among kings, and-of the wise Bharata, that was about to die, hath been revived by Pandu. They who before robbed the Kurus of both territory and wealth have been by Pandu—that tiger of Hastinapore—subjugated and made to pay tribute!' And-all the citizens with Bhisma at their head went out to receive the victorious king. They did not proceed far when they saw the attendants of the king laden with much wealth, And the train of various: conveyances laden with all kinds of wealth, and of elephants, horses, cars, kine, camels, and other animals, was so long that they saw not its end. Then Pandu—the sweller of Kausalya's joy— beholding his father Bhisma worshipped his feet and saluted the citizens and others as each deserved. And Bhisma too embracing his son who had returned victorious after grinding many hostile kingdoms, wept tears of joy. And Pandu then instilling joy into the hearts of his people with flourish of: trumpets and conches and kettle-drums, entered his capital." Thus ends the hundred and thirteenth Section in the Sambhava of the Adi Parva.