at
excellent and celestial gem, the puissant king looked beautiful like a
mountain with the moon above it. Though stricken with grief on account of
the death of her sons, the princess Draupadi, possessed of great mental
strength, gave up her vow. Then king Yudhishthira enquired of the
mighty-armed Krishna, saying the following words."

17

Vaishampayana said, "After all the troops had been slain during the hour
of sleep by those three car-warriors, king Yudhishthira in great grief
said these words unto him of Dasharha's race: 'How, O Krishna, could my
sons, all of whom were mighty car-warriors, be slaughtered by the sinful
and wretched Ashvatthama of no great skill in battle? How also could
Drona's son slay the children of Drupada, all of whom were accomplished
in weapons, possessed of great prowess, and capable of battling with
hundreds of thousands of foes? How could he slay that foremost of
car-warriors, Dhrishtadyumna, before whom the great bowman Drona himself
could not appear? What act was done by the preceptor's son, O bull among
men, in consequence of which he succeeded in slaying, single-handed, all
our men in battle?'

"The holy one said, 'Verily, Drona's son had sought the aid of that
highest of all the gods, the eternal Mahadeva. It was for this that he
succeeded in slaying, single-handed, so large a number of warriors. If
Mahadeva be gratified, he can bestow even immortality. Girisha can give
such valour as will succeed in checking Indra himself. I know Mahadeva
truly, O bull of Bharata's race! I know also his various acts of old. He,
O Bharata, is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all creatures.
This entire universe acts and moves through his energy.

"'The puissant Grandsire, desirous of creating living creatures, saw Rudra;
and the Grandsire asked him, saying, "Create living creatures without
delay!" Thus asked, Rudra of tawny locks, saying, "So be it!" plunged
into the water and practised austerities for a long time, inasmuch as he
was sensible of the defects of living creatures. Having waited in
expectation of Rudra for a very long time, the Grandsire, by a fiat of
his will, invoked into existence another being for making him the creator
of all kinds of living things. Beholding Girisha plunged into the waters,
this (second) being said unto his sire, "If there be no being born before
me, then I will create living creatures!" His sire replied unto him,
saying, "There is no other first-bor