Hearing these words, Arjuna said, ’Do thou not fear.  Assure thyself.  Thou also hast, on the field of battle performed, O bull among men, wonderful feats.  Blessed be thou, thou art a prince and born in the illustrious line of Matsyas.  It behoveth thee not to feel dispirited in chastising thy foes.  Therefore, O prince, stationed on my car, muster all thy fortitude and hold the reins of my steeds, O slayer of foes, when I once more become engaged in battle.’”

Vaisampayana continued, “Having said this unto Virata’s son, that best of men and foremost of car-warriors, the mighty-armed Arjuna, again addressed the son of Virata, saying.  ’Take me without delay to the van of Bhishma’s division.  I will cut off his very bow-string in the battle.  Thou shalt behold today the celestial weapons of blazing beauty, shot by me, look like flashes of lightning disporting amid the clouds in the sky.  The Kauravas shall behold the gold decked back of my Gandiva today, and assembled together the foe shall dispute, saying,—­By which hand of his, the right or the left, doth he shoot?  And I shall cause a dreadful river (of death) to flow today towards the other world with blood for its waters and cars for its eddies, and elephants for its crocodiles.  I shall today, with my straight arrows, extirpate the Kuru forest having hands and feet and heads and backs and arms for the branches of its trees.  Alone, bow in hand, vanquishing the Kuru host, a hundred paths shall open before me like those of a forest in conflagration.  Struck by me thou shalt today behold the Kuru army moving round and round like a wheel (unable to fly off the field).  I shall show thee today my excellent training in arrows and weapons.  Stay thou on my car firmly, whether the ground be smooth or uneven.  I can pierce with my winged arrows even the mountain of Sumeru that stands touching the very heavens.  I slew of old, at Indra’s command, hundreds and thousands of Paulomas and Kalakhanjas in battle.  I have obtained my firmness of grasp from Indra, and my lightness of hand from Brahman, and I have learnt various modes of fierce attack and defence amid crowds of foes from Prajapati.  I vanquished, on the other side of the great ocean, sixty thousands of car-warriors—­all fierce archers—­residing in Hiranyapura.  Behold, now I defeat the multitudinous host of the Kurus like a tempest scattering a heap of cotton.  With my fiery arrows I shall today set the Kuru-forest to fire, having banners for its trees, the foot-soldiers for its shrubs, and the car-warriors for its beasts of prey.  Like unto the wielder of the thunderbolt overthrowing the Danavas, alone I shall, with my straight arrows, bring down from the chambers of their cars the mighty warrior of the Kuru army stationed therein and struggling in the conflict to the best of their power.  I have obtained from Rudra the Raudra, from Varuna the Varuna, from Agni the Agneya, from the god of Wind the Vayava, and from Sakra the thunderbolt and other weapons.  I shall certainly exterminate the fierce Dhartarashtra-forest though protected by many leonine warriors.  Therefore, O Virata’s son, let thy fears be dispelled.’”