s, Bhima and the rest, including the princes
that had come unto him from other lands. But the answer in every case was
the same as Yudhishthira's viz., 'We behold the tree, thyself, our
fellow-pupils, and the bird.' And reproached by their preceptor, they
were all ordered, one after another, to stand apart.'"

SECTION CXXXV

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Vaisampayana said, 'When everyone had failed, Drona smilingly called
Arjuna and said unto him, 'By thee the aim must be shot; therefore, turn
thy eyes to it. Thou must let fly the arrow as soon as I give the order.
Therefore, O son, stand here with bow and arrow for an instant.' Thus
addressed, Arjuna stood aiming at the bird as desired by his preceptor,
with his bow bent. An instant after Drona asked him as in the case of
others, 'Seest thou, O Arjuna, the bird there, the tree, and myself?'
Arjuna replied, 'I see the bird only, but nor the tree, or thyself.' Then
the irrepressible Drona, well-pleased with Arjuna, the instant after,
again said unto that mighty car-warrior amongst the Pandavas, 'If thou
seest the vulture, then describe it to me.' Arjuna said, I see only the
head of the vulture, not its body.' At these words of Arjuna, the hair
(on Drona's body) stood on end from delight. He then said to Partha,
'Shoot.' And the latter instantly let fly (his arrow) and with his sharp
shaft speedily struck off the head of the vulture on the tree and brought
it down to the ground. No sooner was the deed done than Drona clasped
Phalguna to his bosom and thought Drupada with his friends had already
been vanquished in fight.

"Some time after, O bull of Bharata's race, Drona, accompanied by all of
his pupils, went to the bank of the Ganga to bathe in that sacred stream.
And when Drona had plunged into the stream, a strong alligator, sent as
it were, by Death himself seized him by the thigh. And though himself
quite capable, Drona in a seeming hurry asked his pupil to rescue him.
And he said, 'O, kill this monster and rescue me.' Contemporaneously with
this speech, Vibhatsu (Arjuna) struck the monster within the water with
five sharp arrows irresistible in their course, while the other pupils
stood confounded, each at his place. Beholding Arjuna's readiness, Drona
considered him to be the foremost of all his pupils, and became highly
pleased. The monster, in the meantime cut into pieces by the arrows of
Arjuna, released the thigh of illustrious Drona and gave up the ghost