great prowess, and serpents, Gandharvas, birds, and of all creatures; and
lastly, of the life and adventures of king Bharata--the progenitor of the
line that goes by his name--the son born of Sakuntala in the hermitage of
the ascetic Kanwa. This parva also describes the greatness of Bhagirathi,
and the births of the Vasus in the house of Santanu and their ascension to
heaven. In this parva is also narrated the birth of Bhishma uniting in
himself portions of the energies of the other Vasus, his renunciation of
royalty and adoption of the Brahmacharya mode of life, his adherence to
his vows, his protection of Chitrangada, and after the death of
Chitrangada, his protection of his younger brother, Vichitravirya, and his
placing the latter on the throne: the birth of Dharma among men in
consequence of the curse of Animondavya; the births of Dhritarashtra and
Pandu through the potency of Vyasa's blessings (?) and also the birth of
the Pandavas; the plottings of Duryodhana to send the sons of Pandu to
Varanavata, and the other dark counsels of the sons of Dhritarashtra in
regard to the Pandavas; then the advice administered to Yudhishthira on
his way by that well-wisher of the Pandavas--Vidura--in the mlechchha
language--the digging of the hole, the burning of Purochana and the
sleeping woman of the fowler caste, with her five sons, in the house of
lac; the meeting of the Pandavas in the dreadful forest with Hidimba, and
the slaying of her brother Hidimba by Bhima of great prowess. The birth of
Ghatotkacha; the meeting of the Pandavas with Vyasa and in accordance with
his advice their stay in disguise in the house of a Brahmana in the city
of Ekachakra; the destruction of the Asura Vaka, and the amazement of the
populace at the sight; the extra-ordinary births of Krishna and
Dhrishtadyumna; the departure of the Pandavas for Panchala in obedience to
the injunction of Vyasa, and moved equally by the desire of winning the
hand of Draupadi on learning the tidings of the Swayamvara from the lips
of a Brahmana; victory of Arjuna over a Gandharva, called Angaraparna, on
the banks of the Bhagirathi, his contraction of friendship with his