सैन्यनिर्याण पर्व — भीष्म की सेनापति-पद पर नियुक्ति

Vaishampayana said Then did the son of Dhritarashtra, with clasped hands, along with all these rulers of the earth, say these words to Bhishma, the son of Shantanu.

“Without a (suitable) leader of the army even a large army is broken up when engaged in battle like a swarm of ants.

The opinions of two seldom agree besides the leaders of hosts are jealous of one another regarding their own prowess.

It is heard, O you of great wisdom, that all the Brahmanas having assembled together, hoisted up their flag of Kusha and proclaimed war with the Haihayas of immeasurable energy.

They were joined. O grandfather, by the Vaishyas and Sudras. There were thus on one side three orders and those best among the Kshatriyas on the other.

The three orders broke up again and again in the battle that followed and the Kshatriyas were victorious over that large army though they were alone.

Then did these best among the twice-born asked the Kshatriya the cause of his and O grandfather, and those men conversant with virtue told them the truth.

"In battle we listen to the commands of any one person who is the wisest among us, but you are separated and follow your individual whims,

Then did those best among the Brahmanas make one among the twice-born the leader of their army, who was skillful in diplomacy and then did they win a victory ever the Kshatriyas

In the same way those, who appoint a skillful hero who has the good of his party at heart as the leader of the army, vanquish their enemies in battle.

You are equal to Ushanas himself and over wish me well and follow a righteous course from which you never fall off. Therefore do you become a general.

You are as the sun is among the luminous bodies, the moon among deciduous herbs, Kubera among the Yakshas, Vasava among the gods,

Meru among the mountains, Suparna among the birds, Kumara among the gods, Indra among the Vasus.

Protected by you we will be as the gods protected by Shakra and we shall surely be invincible even by the denizens of heaven.

You march in our front as the son of Agni (Kumara) among the gods and we shall follow you like calves following a cow.

Bhishma said It is as you say, O Bharata, O you of long arms but as you are to me so are the Pandavas.

And it is also my duty to look after their welfare, O ruler of men; but I shall fight on your behalf since I have promised it.

I do not see any soldier equal to me in this world save that best among men Dhananjaya, the son of Kunti.

He (Arjuna) is a man of great wisdom and knows the use of celestial weapons and many other weapons but that son of Pandu will never encounter me in open fight.

I, in a moment, shall make this world destitute of men, gods, Asuras and Rakshasas by the strength of my weapons.

But these sons of Pandu ought not to be slain by me, O ruler of men; therefore shall I slay ten thousand warriors every day.

In this way, shall I bring on their end o delighter of the Kuru race, if indeed they do not kill me before I have time to carry out my desire in the battle.

But there is another condition on which I shall be the leader of your army; that desire which I have in my heart it is proper that you should hear of.

Either let Karna fight first or myself, O lord of the earth. The son of the Suta always compares his prowess in battle with mine,

Karria said So long as the son of Ganga is alive I shall never fight, O king; when Bhishma is slain, I shall fight with him who wields the Gandiva bow.

Vaishampayana said Then did the son of Dhritarashtra make Bhishma, who had made liberal gifts, the commander of his army, and he too being duly installed blazed forth.

Drums and conches were then sounded by hundreds and thousands by eager musicians by command of the king,

There were also roars like those of lions and several other sorts of roars among the army; and though there were no clouds in the sky there was a down pour of blood which made the ground full of mire.

There were also earthquakes and whirlwinds and roars made by elephants which succeeded in casting a shade on the minds of all warriors.

There were also incorporeal voices and meteors shot forth the heavens and jackals began to make frightful howls and the cardinal points seemed ablaze.

When the king installed the son of Ganga in the generalship these frightful sights appeared in hundreds, O ruler of men.

Then having appointed, Bhishma the grinder of the enemies' hosts, as the general and having made liberal presents of cows and gold to the foremost among the twice born.

He marched forth with the blessings of those Brahmanas glorifying him, surrounded by his army placing Bhishma at the head of his host and accompanied by his brothers.

And with a large army he went to Kurukshetra.

The of Kuru having traversed Kurukshetra in company with Karna placed his camps in a plain, O ruler of men,

In a part which was also charming and without sands and abounded, fuel and fodder. The encampment then shone forth as the city of Hastina. son