Text 22] Birth of Emperor Pariksit 639

When his inimical cousin Duryodhana was under the clutches of the
Gandharvas, he wanted to save him and requested the Gandharvas to
release Duryodhana, but the Gandharvas refused, and thus he fought with
them and got Duryodhana released. When all the Pandavas lived incognito,
he presented himself in the court of King Virata as a eunuch and was
employed as the musical teacher of Uttara, his future daughter-in-law, and
was known in the Virata court as the Brhannala. As Brhannala, he fought
on behalf of Uttara, the son of King Virata, and thus defeated the Kurus
in the fight incognito. His secret weapons were safely kept in the custody
of a somi tree, and he ordered Uttara to get them back. His identity and
his brothers’ identity were later on disclosed to Uttara. Dronacarya was
informed of Arjuna’s presence in the fight of the Kurus and the Viratas.
Later, on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, Arjuna killed many great generals
like Karna and others. After the Battle of Kuruksetra, he punished
Asvatthama, who killed all the five sons of Draupadi. Then all the brothers
went to Bhismadeva.

It is due to Arjuna only that the great philosophical discourses of the
Bhagavad-gita were again spoken by the Lord on the Battlefield of
Kuruksetra. His wonderful acts on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra are vividly
described in the Mahabharata. Arjuna was, however, defeated by his son
Babhruvahana at Manipura and fell unconscious when Uliipi saved him. After
the disappearance of Lord Krsna, the message was brought by him to
Maharaja Yudhisthira. Again, he visited Dvaraka, and all the widow wives
of Lord Krsna lamented before him. He took them all in the presence of
Vasudeva and pacified all of them. Later on, when Vasudeva passed away,
he performed his funeral ceremony in the absence of Krsna. While Arjuna
was taking all the wives of Krsna to Indraprastha, he was attacked on the
way, and he could not protect the ladies in his custody. At last, advised by
Vyasadeva, all the brothers headed for Mahaprasthan. On the way, at the
request of his brother, he gave up all important weapons as useless, and he
dropped them all in the water.

TEXT 22

airs za fara fate feaataa |
fafasagvart atau: fray Rell

mrgendra iva vikranto
nisevyo himavan iva

titiksur vasudhevasau
sahisnuh pitaraviva
