Text 21] Birth of Emperor Pariksit 637
grade scholar and loved heartily to bestow upon him all the blessings of
military science. He was so ardent a student that he used to practice
bowmanship even at night, and for all these reasons Professor Dronacarya
was determined to make him the topmost bowman of the world. He
passed very brilliantly the examination in piercing the target, and
Dronacarya was very pleased. Royal families at Manipur and Tripura are
descendants of Babhruvahana. He saved Dronacarya from the attack of a
crocodile, and the Acarya, being pleased with him, rewarded him a
weapon of the name Brahmaégira. Maharaja Drupada was inimical toward
Dronacarya, and thus when he attacked the Acarya, Arjuna got him arrested
and brought him before Dronacarya. He besieged a city of the name
Ahichhatra, belonging to Maharaja Drupada, and after taking it over he
gave it to Dronacarya. The confidential treatment of the weapon Brahma-
sira was explained to Arjuna, and Dronacarya was promised by Arjuna that
he would use the weapon if necessary when he (Dronacarya) personally
became an enemy of Arjuna. By this, the Acarya forecasted the future
battle of Kuruksetra, in which Dronacarya was on the opposite side.
Maharaja Drupada, although defeated by Arjuna on behalf of his professor
Dronacarya, decided to hand over his daughter Draupadi to his young
combatant, but he was disappointed when he heard the false news of
Arjuna’s death in the fire of a lac-house intrigued by Duryodhana. He
therefore arranged for Draupadi’s personal selection of a groom who could
pierce the eye of a fish hanging on the ceiling. This trick was especially
made because only Arjuna could do it, and he was successful in his desire
to hand over his equally worthy daughter to Arjuna. His brothers were at
that time living incognito under agreement with Duryodhana, and Arjuna
and his brothers attended the meeting of Draupadi’s selection in the dress
of brahmanas. When all the ksatriya kings assembled saw that a poor
brahmana had been garlanded by Draupadi for her lord, Sri Krsna dis-
closed his identity to Balarama.

He met Ulupi at Haridvar, and he was attracted by the girl belonging to
Nagaloka, and thus Iravan was born. Similarly, he met Citrangada, a
daughter of the King of Manipura, and thus Babhruvahana was born. Lord
Sri Krsna made a plan to help Arjuna to kidnap Subhadra, sister of Sri
Krsna, because Baladeva was inclined to hand her over to Duryodhana.
Yudhisthira also agreed with Sri Krsna, and thus Subhadra was taken by
force by Arjuna and then married to him. Subhadra’s son is Abhimanyu,
the father of Pariksit Maharaja, the posthumous child. He satisfied the
fire-god by setting fire to the Khandava Forest, and thus the fire-god gave
him one weapon. Indra was angry when fire was set in the Khandava
