Dhananjaya, slay the warriors of those kings who may come forth to fight thee, with all their kinsmen and friends.  They should be requested to come to the horse-sacrifice of Yudhishthira.’—­Having heard these commands of my brother, I shall not slay thee, O king.  Rise up; let no fear be thine; return to thy city safe and sound, O lord of Earth.  When the day of full moon in the month of Chaitra comes, thou shalt, O great king, repair to that sacrifice of king Yudhishthira the just, for it takes place on that day.  Thus addressed by Arjuna, the royal son of Bhagadatta, defeated by the son of Pandu, said,—­’So be it.’”

SECTION LXXVII

“Vaisampayana said, ’There occurred a great battle between the diadem-decked Arjuna and the hundreds of Saindhavas who still lived after the slaughter of their clan (on the field of Kurukshetra).  Hearing that he of white steeds had entered their territories, those Kshatriyas came out against him, unable to bear that foremost one of Pandu’s race.  Those warriors who were as terrible as virulent poison, finding the horse within their dominion, seized it without being inspired with any fear of Partha who was the younger brother of Bhimasena.  Advancing against Vibhatsu who waited on foot, armed with his bow, upon the sacrificial steed, they assailed him from a near point.  Defeated in battle before, those Kshatriyas of mighty energy, impelled by the desire of victory, surrounded that foremost of men.  Proclaiming their names and families and their diverse feats, they showered their arrows on Partha.  Pouring showers of arrows of such fierce energy as were capable of impeding the course of hostile elephants, those heroes surrounded the son of Kunti, desirous of vanquishing him in battle.  Themselves seated on cars, they fought Arjuna of fierce feats who was, on foot.  From every side they began to strike that hero, that slayer of the Nivatakavachas, that destroyer of the Samasaptakas, that killer of the king of the Sindhus.  Surrounding him on every side as within a cage by means of a thousand cars and ten thousand horses, those brave warriors expressed their exaltation.  Recollecting the slaughter by Dhananjaya of Jayadratha in battle, O thou of Kuru’s race, they poured heavy showers of arrows on that hero like a mass of clouds showering a heavy downpour.  Over-whelmed with that arrowy shower, Arjuna looked like the sun covered by a cloud.  That foremost son of Pandu, in the midst of that cloud of arrows, resembled a bird in the midst of an iron cage, O Bharata.  Seeing the son of Kunti thus afflicted with shafts, cries of Oh and Alas were uttered by the three worlds and the Sun himself became shorn of his splendour.  Then, O king, a terrible wind began to blow, and Rahu swallowed up both the Sun and the Moon at the same time.  Many meteors struck the solar disc and then shot in different directions.  The prince of mountains, viz., Kailasa, began