GETTING READY FOR THE BATTLE

Duryodhana and Arjuna both went to Krishna at Dwarka to asked for his help.Arjuna on behalf of the Pandavas chose Krishna and requested him to be his charioteer and hence received the name Parthasarthy, or 'charioteer of the son of Pritha'. Both Duryodhana and Arjuna returned satisfied.

Indra invited Arjuna to Amaravati, the capital city of heavenly kingdom, and said, "We are returning. I will send my charioteer Matali to you presently with my chariot. Please come. Meanwhile I will arrange a befitting welcome to you." The gods disappeared and Arjuna eagerly awaited the arrival of Matali. Matali arrived with the chariot and took Arjuna to the kingdom of the gods. He told Arjuna, "You are exceptionally fortunate. You are invited to come to heaven with your mortal body. The souls of the saintly kings, brave warriors who died fighting on the battlefield, pious Brahmins who have performed sacrifices, sages who led virtuous lives controlling their senses and righteous people only come to heaven, the abode of eternal bliss. This is a prohibited area for the heterodox, liars, cowards who flee from the battlefield and hypocrites." Arjuna was welcomed by Vayu, the air god, at the city gate bringing air with floral fragrance of all seasons. The citizens of heaven lined the route through which he passed in the heavenly chariot. The Apsarasas sang and danced to the accompaniment of the celestial orchestra.

The sages of heaven welcomed him reciting the vedic hymns. Arjuna bowed to Indra who seated him on the throne along with him, an honour rarely conferred on any individual. He was lodged in a palace built with precious stones. The Gandharva bands provided him with musical entertainment. He was taken through in a procession on the 'Airavata', the white elephant of Indra through the main streets of heaven and he spent some time in the renowned Nandana park, where the Kalpavriksha, the tree which fulfilled all desires, grew. He paid his respects to the celestial cow, 'Kamadhenu' and took the holy bath in the Mandakani, the divine counterpart of the Ganges. At sunset, Arjuna returned from the Nandhana park to the palace of precious stones reserved for his stay. He stood on the balcony observing the rising moon, a sight which angles loved to see every day.


The rays of the moon added additional grace and grandeur to the heavenly landscape, to the whirling waves of the Mandakani, the beautiful blossoms of the Mandara and chandana trees of Nandhana park, the ivory skin of Airvata, the ruffling ripples of the milky ocean, silvery garments of the goddess of learning, Sarawathi, the jasmine robes of 'Jyotsna abhisarikas' the love- lorn maidens who go out to meet their lovers at the pre- appointed places and mingled with the fragrant fame of the distinguished guest Arjuna, the middle Pandava hero, blessed with the Gandiva bow and the Pasupatha missile. Urvasi, the celestial nymph who was created by saint Narayana endowing her with superlative beauty and superb grace to outshine and shame the divine damsels that were deputed to disturb his penance came to Arjuna as a Jyotsna abhisarika dressed in a silvery satin and decked with ultra fragrant flowers radiating the bloom of eternal spring all around. She arrived as the very embodiment of moon light and stood at the threshold of the guest house as the personification of the static lightining.

Arjuna quickly came to the door way and received Urvasi with all the reverence at his command. He bowed to her and welcomed her in the traditional style saying, "This is humble Arjuna,paying respects to the revered Urvasi, the great grandmother of the royal race of the Bharatha." Urvasi was taken aback at the way the renowned hero received her, recollected her wits and replied, "This is the land of eternal spring and grandmother do exist here. Here men are aged thirty and girls sixteen forever. Attracted by your renowned valour, I have come to you as a Jyotsna abhisarikas. I expect you to be a chivalrous sportsman." Arjuna said, "Mother you were the wife of Pururava, the illustrious ancestor of our dynasty. I request you to bless me, your grandchild. Urvasi said, "Here you should not be contaminated by the mundane mentality which is incompatible with the practices in Paradise. Terrestrial relationships are not relevant to transcendental bliss and beautitude. You are a hero. I am the celestial damsel." Arjuna replied, " A hero is not expected to be a slave of carnality. If this is your palace, I should like to abide by earthly values. A mortal who conquers himself is greater than the hero who conquers the whole world." Urvasi, in utter humiliation and despair cursed Arjuna, "You will then live as a eunuch in the mortal world, devoid of your manliness, preoccupied with menial pursuits."

Indra came to know the incident next day and he consoled Arjuna saying, "Take the curse of Urvasi as a blessing in disguise. You have to live for one year incognito. The curse will be effective for that period and you can escape detection by your enemies." Indra directed Chitrasena, the expert at dance and music to initiate Arjuna into the intricacies of the fine arts. Arjuna and Chitrasena became good friends. Arjuna acquired professional proficiency in the art of dance. When Arjuna was the guest of Indra, the sage Romasa visited the celestial court. Romasa was surprised to see a mortal seated on the celestial throne along with Indra and asked the king of gods who the stranger was. Indra said to Romasa, "He is the middle Pandava prince, Arjuna. In his past life he was the sage Nara, the friend and colleague of Narayana. He is born on earth as the son of Kunti by my grace sharing my genius. Please go to earth and meet Dharamaputra, the eldest Pandava prince who takes delight to welcome sages and saints like you. Please tell him that Arjuna is here with me and will return to earth after killing the demons of the under - world called Nivatakavachas. I know you will enjoy the company of Dharmaputra, the incarnation of righteousness on earth." Romasa took leave of Indra and started.

Indra trained Arjuna for four years in the use, upkeep and security of superhuman missiles he gave to Arjuna and presented him with the celestial conch, which was named Devadatta, meaning a gift of the Gods and a golden crown studded with precious stones. The king of the gods said to Arjuna, "Gods have their own peculiar problems. We are facing constant trouble at the hands of Nivatakavachas, who have built a submarine kingdom. Their population is about three crores and are invincible to the immortals. As gurudakshina I want you to conquer them." Arjuna started on the chariot of Indra driven by Matali. It was drawn by ten thousand horses of various hues- some having pure white swan skins and others with peacock feather colours.

Arjuna reached the great ocean and blew the Devadatta at the submarine city gates. The Nivatakavachas hordes came in waves and attacked Arjuna. In the epic, a detailed description of the great battle is given. The demons hurled various missiles at Arjuna creating artificial cyclones, darkness, etc. It was atmospheric warfare. Matali, the divine charioteer swooned and Arjuna himself piloted the chariot and fought with the Danava hordes simultaneously countering all their missiles. Eventually Arjuna destroyed the demons. Matali told Arjuna that two Asura women, Puloma and Kalaka obtained boons from Brahma by their austere penances so that their progeny, the Paulomis and Kalakeyas, should become invincible by the immortals, and that their city Hiranyapura was in the vicinity. They numbered sixty thousand. Arjuna asked Matali to drive the chariot to Hirayapuri. The demons who were awaiting Arjuna, attacked him with all their might. A fierce battle followed. Arjuna released the Pasupata missile and the surging hordes Kalakeyas and Paulomis were reduced to ashes. Arjuna returned to Indra triumphantly.