01.213
Core-Pancharatra: Arjuna get Abhimanyu from Subhadra. Prativindya, Sutasoma, Shrutakarman, Shatanika and Shrutasena were born to Draupadi.
Vaiśampāyana said.
When all the Vṛṣṇis had repeatedly spoken, then Vāsudeva spoke words imbued with righteousness and purpose.
Guḍākeśa (Arjuna) has shown no disrespect to this family. On the contrary, he has shown great honor, without a doubt.
Arjuna does not think of you Sātvatas as greedy for wealth; he always regards the Sātvatas. The Pāṇḍava also considers the svayaṃvara to be unassailable.
Who would approve of giving away a maiden as if she were an animal? And what man on earth would sell his own child?
It is my opinion that the son of Kunti, having seen these faults, therefore took the maiden by force, yet in accordance with dharma, O Pāṇḍava.
The relationship is proper, and Subhadrā is illustrious. This Pārtha (Arjuna) has also carried her off by force, thus.
Who, being of Bharata's line, born of the great Śantanu, and the grandson of Kuntibhoja, would wish to surpass Arjuna?
O dear one, I do not see anyone, even among all the worlds with Indra and Rudra, who could defeat Arjuna by prowess.
He, and indeed that chariot, my horses, and the warrior Pārtha, swift in weapons—who indeed could be equal to him?
Follow him and, with utmost conciliation, joyfully bring back Dhanañjaya; this is my highest wish.
If Pārtha (Arjuna) conquers you by force and returns to his own city, your fame will be lost at once; but if you are defeated through conciliation, it will not be so.
Having heard this about Vāsudeva, the kings acted accordingly. Then Arjuna, having withdrawn, performed the marriage there.
Having spent a year there, the son of Kunti (Yudhishthira) passed the nights at Pushkara, and then, after spending the remaining time, when the twelfth year was completed, he entered Khandavaprastha.
Arjuna, after respectfully approaching the king with humility and composure and worshipping the Brāhmaṇas, went to Draupadī.
Draupadī affectionately replied to him, "Go at once, O son of Kunti, to where the daughter of Sātvata is." Even the strongest bonds of a well-secured burden eventually loosen.
Thus, Arjuna repeatedly consoled Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī), who was lamenting in various ways, and sought her forgiveness again and again.
Arjuna, hastening, dressed Subhadrā in red silk garments and, having assumed the form of a cowherdess, sent her away.
Radiant and illustrious, Bhadrā, the noble wife of a hero, adorned with exceptional beauty, entered the excellent mansion and respectfully saluted Pṛthā, the broad coppery-eyed and renowned lady.
Then Bhadrā, her face radiant like the full moon, quickly approached Draupadī, bowed to her, and said, "I am your maidservant."
Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī), having risen, embraced Mādhava's sister and joyfully said, "May your husband be free from co-wives." Similarly, the glad Bhadrā said to her, "So let it be."
Then the sons of Pāṇḍu, the mighty chariot-warriors, were filled with joy; and Kuntī too was extremely delighted, O Janamejaya.
But when the lotus-eyed one heard, he arrived at his own excellent city; at that time, Arjuna, the foremost of the Pāṇḍavas, had gone to Indraprastha.
Keśava, whose soul is pure, arrived together with Rāma, accompanied by the chief officers of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, and also by heroic and mighty chariot-warriors.
Śauri (Krishna), the scorcher of foes, was surrounded by hundreds of brothers, princes, and warriors, and was protected by a great army.
There, the wise and renowned lord of gifts, Akrura, commander of the Vṛṣṇi heroes and destroyer of enemies, arrived.
Uddhava, undaunted and of great brilliance and fame, was directly the disciple of Bṛhaspati, possessing great intellect and renowned reputation.
Satyaka, Sātyaki, Kṛtavarmā of the Sātvata clan, Pradyumna, Sāmba, Niśaṭha, and Śaṅku were present.
Cārudeṣṇa, the valiant Jhillī, Vipṛthu, Sāraṇa, the mighty-armed Gada, and the foremost among the learned were present.
These, along with many others—Vṛṣṇis, Bhojas, and Andhakas—also came to Khāṇḍavaprastha, bringing many gifts.
Then King Yudhishthira, upon hearing of Madhava's arrival, sent Nakula and Sahadeva to receive Krishna.
Having been received by those two, that prosperous Vṛṣṇi retinue entered Khandavaprastha, which was adorned with banners and standards.
The path was sprinkled and thoroughly cleaned, beautifully decorated with heaps of flowers, and suffused with the cool sandalwood essence and auspicious fragrances.
In every place, aguru (aloeswood) was being burnt, spreading fragrance; the area was well-cleaned, crowded with people, and adorned by merchants.
The mighty-armed Keśava, accompanied by Rāma and surrounded by the Vṛṣṇis, Andhakas, and Mahābhojas, approached, being the best among men.
Honored by thousands of citizens and Brāhmaṇas, he entered the king's palace, which resembled the mansion of Purandara (Indra).
But Yudhishthira, approached by Rama according to the proper custom, after smelling Keshava's head, embraced him with his arm.
Kṛṣṇa, pleased, honored him with humility, and Bhīma, the tiger among men, reciprocated the honor as prescribed.
Yudhiṣṭhira, the king of dharma, welcomed the leading Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas with due honors, following the proper customs and as befitted the occasion.
He honored some as he would a teacher, others as friends; he spoke to some with affection, and was also greeted by others.
Then Vasudeva gave excellent wealth for the sake of the people. The illustrious one gave the wealth due to the relatives for the abduction of Subhadrā.
Kṛṣṇa gave a thousand chariots with golden fittings, decorated with networks of small bells, each drawn by four horses and attended by skilled charioteers, and also ten thousand cows.
Janardana, possessed of fortune, affectionately gave a thousand gold ornaments to the milch cows of auspicious radiance from Mathura and to the white mares whose brilliance was like moonbeams.
Similarly, there are hundreds of swift, tamed mules; and among the black-haired and white ones, five each.
A thousand women, fair-complexioned, well-adorned, and radiant, endowed with youth, were well-arranged for bathing and cleansing.
The lotus-eyed one gave gold and hundreds of necklaces to the healthy, well-dressed, and skilled attendants.
Janārdana (Krishna), the chief among the Daśārhas, gave ten human loads of gold with the brilliance of fire, both of what was done and not done.
But from the elephants, whose bodies were broken and who resembled mountain peaks, the temporal juice flowed in three streams as they fought in battles without retreating.
He, who delights in daring deeds, had a thousand excellent, gold-garlanded elephants, prepared and equipped with loud bells and skilled elephant riders.
Rāma gave the foot-washing vessel to Arjuna (Pārtha), and Balarāma, pleased, brought forth affection for their relationship.
He was like a flood of immense wealth and jewels, foaming with cloth and blankets, teeming with great elephants and huge crocodiles, and crowded with banners and waterweeds.
The great river broke through the Pāṇḍava army like an ocean, entered it, filled it completely, and brought sorrow to their enemies.
Yudhishthira, the king of dharma, accepted everything and honored the great warriors of the Vrishni and Andhaka clans.
Those great-souled men, the foremost among the Kurus, Vṛṣṇis, and Andhakas, gathered together and enjoyed themselves in the abode of the immortals, just as the virtuous do.
There, at various places, the Kurus and the Vṛṣṇis enjoyed themselves with abundant drinks and the resounding of excellent cymbals, each according to their capacity and pleasure.
Thus, those mighty ones, after spending many days honored by the Kurus, returned again to the city of Dvāravatī.
The great chariot-warriors of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, placing Rāma at the forefront, departed after receiving the bright gems presented by the foremost of the Kurus.
But Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), together with Arjuna, remained there in the beautiful city of Śakraprastha, O Bhārata, with a great mind. He wandered along the bank of the Yamunā, together with Arjuna, O descendant of Bharata.
Then Subhadrā, the beloved sister of Keśava, gave birth to her radiant son, just as Paulomī (Śacī) gave birth to the victorious Jayanta.
Subhadrā gave birth to Abhimanyu, the heroic son who was long-armed, possessed of great strength, bull-eyed, and a subduer of foes, a foremost among men.
He, fearless and full of wrath, that destroyer of enemies, was then called 'Abhimanyu', the son of Arjuna, the foremost among men.
He, the mighty charioteer, was born from Dhanañjaya in Sātvati; or, during the sacrifice, Agni was born from the womb of the śamī tree when it was churned.
When the mighty-armed son of Kuntī, Yudhiṣṭhira, was born, he gave ten thousand cows and an equal number of gold ornaments to the twice-born.
He became the beloved of Vāsudeva from his childhood onwards, and, like the moon to all beings, he was dear to his fathers and to everyone.
From the moment of his birth, Kṛṣṇa performed auspicious deeds. The boy grew steadily, just as the moon waxes during the bright half of the month.
O subduer of foes, the entire science of archery, which is fourfold and tenfold, both divine and human, was known from Arjuna through the Veda.
The mighty one taught distinctions in all sciences, in the skill of weapons, and in every kind of action.
Dhananjaya, seeing his son Saubhadra, was pleased, for in both theory and practice he had made him equal to himself.
He was endowed with perfect compactness, marked by all auspicious signs; unassailable, with the shoulders of a bull, and a mouth gaping wide like a serpent.
He possessed the pride of a lion, was a mighty archer, strode like an intoxicated elephant, his voice resounded like a thunderous drum, and his face shone like the full moon.
Bībhatsu (Arjuna) saw his son, who resembled Kṛṣṇa in heroism, strength, appearance, and accomplishment, just as Indra (Maghavān) would see him.
The auspiciously-marked daughter of the king of Panchala, from her five husbands, obtained five heroic and virtuous sons, like the five mountains.
Prativindhya was born of Yudhishthira, Sutasoma of Bhima (Vrikodara); Shrutakarman of Arjuna, and Shatanika and Nakula's son.
Pāñcālī (Draupadī) gave birth to these five great chariot-warriors—Sahadeva, Śrutasena, and the others—just as Aditi gave birth to the Ādityas (solar deities).
The brāhmaṇas said to Yudhiṣṭhira, 'According to the scriptures, let this Prativindhya be the foremost in the knowledge of others' weapons.'
But in his son, Sutasoma, the great archer, radiant as Soma and the Sun, with the brilliance of a thousand Somas, was born from Bhīmasena.
After the crowned one, having withdrawn, performed a great deed as heard, thus your son was born; in this way, the one whose deeds are heard then came to be.
Nakula, the descendant of Kuru and delight of the Kurus, son of the royal sage Śatānīka, had a son named Kīrtivardhana.
Then Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) gave birth to a son by Sahadeva, under the constellation presided over by Agni; he was known as Śrutasena.
O king, the illustrious sons of Draupadī were each born a year apart, devoted to each other's welfare.
O best of the Bharatas, Dhaumya performed for them the birth-rites, tonsure, and initiation ceremonies in due order, according to the prescribed rules.
After completing their study of the Veda, those of virtuous conduct and vows took all the divine and human bows and weapons from Arjuna.
O tiger among kings, the Pāṇḍavas, accompanied by their sons who were like those born of gods, broad-chested and mighty, experienced great joy.
