Mahabharata

Vana Parva 165

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1 Vaisampayana said, “Then when the night had been spent, Dhananjaya, together with his brothers, paid homage unto Yudhishthira the just. And, O Bharata, at this moment, proceeding from the celestials there arose mighty and tremendous sounds of a musical instrument, and the rattling of car-wheels, and the tolling of bells. And there at all the beasts and beasts of prey and birds emitted separate cries. And from all sides in cars resplendent as the sun, hosts of Gandharvas and Apsaras began to follow that represser of foes, the lord of the celestials. And ascending a car yoked with steeds, decorated with burnished gold, and roaring like clouds, that king of the celestials, Purandara blazing in beauty came unto the Parthas. And having arrived (at that place), he of a thousand eyes descended from his car. And as soon as Yudhishthira the just saw that high-souled one, he together with his brothers, approached that graceful king of the immortals. And in accordance with the ordinance that generous one duly worshipped him of immeasurable soul, in consequence with his dignity. And then Dhananjaya possessed of prowess, having bowed down unto Purandara, stood before the lord of the celestials in humble guise, like unto a servant. And seeing the sinless Dhananjaya having ascetic merit, bearing clotted hair, stand in humility before the lord of celestials, Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti; of great energy, smelt (the crown) of his head. And beholding Phalguna (in that attitude), he was exceedingly glad; and by worshipping the king of the celestials, he experienced the highest bliss. Then unto that strongminded monarch, swimming in felicity, the intelligent lord of the celestials, Purandara, spake, saying, Thou shalt rule the earth, O Pandava, Blessed be thou! Do thou, O Kunti’s son, again repair unto Kamyaka.’”That learned man who for a year leading the Brahmacharya mode of life, subduing his senses and observing vows, peruseth with rapt attention this meeting of Sakra with the Pandavas, liveth a hundred years free from disturbances, and enjoying happiness.”’

The Mahabharata, translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (Ganguli), 1896. Public domain by date, through Project Gutenberg. The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated into English prose by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883 to 1896. Text from Project Gutenberg eBooks 15474 to 15477, which were prepared by John Bruno Hare of sacred-texts.com, Distributed Proofreaders, Mantra Caitanya and David King. Version: Project Gutenberg eBooks 15474 to 15477, the four-volume Ganguli. Source

Vyasa's Mahabharata, 18 parvas, in Ganguli's numbering.

The translation itself is out of copyright. These files were scanned and proofed at sacred-texts.com, whose own terms limit commercial use of its copies, and were published by their maker through Project Gutenberg, which states no such limit. We use the Project Gutenberg files under its terms and name the chain here. Ganguli's prose has no verse numbers, so the numbers here count paragraphs. Its English is that of the 1880s. In the Bhishma Parva, the bracketed Gita chapter labels and the remark beside them are John Bruno Hare's, not Ganguli's.

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