hat those god-like
and mighty warriors by hundreds, furnished with weapons, and eager for
battle, each donned his corselet. And then they yoked unto their
excellent cars of white-hue steeds equipped in mail. And then was
hoisted--Matsya's glorious standard on his excellent car decked with
gold and resembling the sun or the moon in its effulgence. And other
Kshatriya warriors also raised on their respective cars gold-decked
standards of various shapes and devices. And king Matsya then addressed
his brother Satanika born immediately after him, saying, 'Kanka and
Vallava and Tantripala and Damagranthi of great energy will, as it
appears to me fight, without doubt. Give thou unto them cars furnished
with banners and let them case their persons in beautiful coats of mail
that should be both invulnerable and easy to wear. And let them also
have weapons. Bearing such martial forms and possessed of arms
resembling the trunk of mighty elephants, I can never persuade myself
that they cannot fight.' Hearing these words of the king, Satanika, O
monarch, immediately ordered cars for those sons of Pritha, viz., the
royal Yudhishthira, and Bhima, and Nakula, and Sahadeva, and commanded
by the king, the charioteers, with cheerful hearts and keeping loyalty
in view, very soon got cars ready (for the Pandavas). And those
repressers of foes then donned those beautiful coats of mail,
invulnerable and easy to wear, that Virata had ordered for those heroes
of spotless fame. And mounted on cars yoked with good steeds, those
smiters of hostile ranks, those foremost of men, the sons of Pritha, set
out with cheerful hearts. Indeed, those mighty warriors skilled in
fight, those bulls of the Kuru race and sons of Pandu, those four heroic
brothers possessed of prowess incapable of being baffled, mounting on
cars decked with gold, together set out, following Virata's wake. And
infuriate elephants of terrible mien, full sixty years of age, with
shapely tusks and rent temples and juice trickling down and looking (on
that account) like cloud pouring rain and mounted by trained warriors
skilled in fight, followed the king like unto moving hills. And the
principal warriors of Matsya who cheerfully followed the king had eight
thousand cars, a thousand elephants and sixty thousand horses. And, O
bull among the Bharatas, that force of Virata, O king, as it marched
forth marking the footprints of the cattle looked exceedingly beautiful.
And on its march that