' Thus addressed by
Yudhishthira, the prince, O Bharata, was overpowered with shame, and
bending down his head, he silently and sorrowfully wended his way to the
place where the Ganga debouches on the plains. And imploring the
protection of the god of three eyes, the consort of Uma, he did severe
penance at that place. And the three-eyed god, pleased with his
austerities deigned to accept his offerings in person. And he also
granted him a boon! Do thou listen, O monarch, how the prince received
that boon! Jayadratha, addressing that god, asked the boon, 'May I be
able to defeat in battle all the five sons of Pandu on their chariots!'
The god, however, told him 'This cannot be.' And Maheswara said, 'None
can slay or conquer them in battle. Save Arjuna, however, thou shall be
able to only check them (once) on the field of battle! The heroic
Arjuna, with mighty arms, is the god incarnate styled _Nara_. He
practised austerities of old in the Vadari forest. The God _Narayana_ is
his friend. Therefore, he is unconquerable of the very gods. I myself
have given him the celestial weapon called _Pasupata_. From the regents
also of all the ten cardinal points, he has acquired the thunder-bolt
and other mighty weapons. And the great god Vishnu who is the Infinite
Spirit, the Lord Preceptor of all the gods, is the Supreme Being without
attributes, and the Soul of the Universe, and existeth pervading the
whole creation. At the termination of a cycle of ages, assuming the
shape of the all-consuming fire, he consumed the whole Universe with
mountains and seas and islands and hills and woods and forests.
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