CHAPTER – 123
Markandeya said: – Thus the kings and princes, arranged in order of battle, vanquished a good many of them, waiting for that time. (1) Then there arose a dreadful encounter between him and them – one with many kings and mighty princes, O Muni. (2) All those greatly powerful (kings) with swords, Saktis, club and arrows in their hands, fought with him; he too fought with them all. (3) That highly powerful son of a king, an adept in the use of arms, pierced them with a hundred fierce arrows. They too struck him with sharpened shafts. (4) Some had their arms torn, some had their heads sundered, some were wounded to the very vitals and others were struck on the breast. (5) They sundered the trunks of the elephants and the heads of the horses and then again the horses of the other party’s cars as well as their charioteers. (6) The arrows, falling down, sundered twain the shafts of the enemies. He cut off the sword of the enemies as well as their heads by virtue of light-bandedness. Their armours being shattered the prince killed the enemies. And seeing others wounded the infantry left the battle-field. (8) The entire host of kings being thus agitated seven hundred heroes stood there determined upon meeting with death. (9) They were all of respectable pedigree, elderly, heroic and modest. After all the solders had been defeated and taken to their heels, that son of the king, greatly worked up with anger, fought righteously with all those kings, approaching them one by one. (11-12) That highly powerful one attempted there to shatter their weapons and coats of mail; they too, O great Muni, worked up with rage, renouncing righteousness, began to fight with him who was combating righteously. All the princes began to perspire like
a forest filled with water. (13-14) Some he wounded with a collection of arrows; and the armours of others were shattered by him and again he struck down on earth the standards of others. (15) Others killed the horses and broke down the chariots and drove the charioteer with the strokes of clubs and arrows. (16) On his bow being shattered, the prince, in anger, took up his sword and shield and that even was struck down by another. (17) Having his sword and shield shattered that one, the foremost of those holding maces, took up his mace. And that too, one cut off with a horse-shoe headed arrow like one of a sure aim. (18) All those kings, ever averse to a fair fight, forming a trough, sundered them, some with a thousand shafts, some with a hundred shafts. (19) When assailed by many, he, being over-powered, fell down on earth; thereupon those great princes bound him. (20) Then having over-powered that prince by unfair means they all, along with the king Vishala, entered the city of Vidisha. (21) Having brought that prince bound, they all rejoiced and delightedly placed him before the maiden who had arranged for the Swayamvara. (22) She was again urged on by her father and the priest, saying “choose any one amongst the kings as your husband”. (23) When that honoured damsel did not choose any one as her husband O Muni, the king asked the astrologer, for the marriage (saying): -(24) “Tell me of a day which is best suited for her marriage; to-day has been sullied by a battle which has presented many obstacles.” (25)
MARKANDEYA said: – Having been thus addressed by the king the astrologer Durmanas, informed of best things, thinking said to him: (36) “O king, there shall soon be other days that will be greatly auspicious for the marriage. (27) O conferrer of honours, you may celebrate the marriage when that comes. There is no need of celebrating this on this day when a huge obstacle has presented itself.” (28)