No
disturbance occurred, however, until the day when Drona made a public
tournament to display the prowess of his pupils.
The contests were in archery and the use of the noose and of clubs. Bhima,
who had been endowed by the serpent king with the strength of ten thousand
elephants, especially excelled in the use of the club, Nakalu was most
skillful in taming and driving the horse, and the others in the use of the
sword and spear. When Arjuna made use of the bow and the noose the
plaudits with which the spectators greeted his skill so enraged the
Kauravas that they turned the contest of clubs, which was to have been a
friendly one, into a degrading and blood-shedding battle. The spectators
left the splendid lists in sorrow, and the blind Raja determined to
separate the unfriendly cousins before further harm could come from their
rivalry.
Before this could be done, another event increased their hostility. Drona
had agreed to impart to the Kauravas and the Pandavas his skill in
warfare, on condition that they would conquer for him his old enemy, the
Raja of Panchala. On account of their quarrel the cousins would not fight
together, and the Kauravas, marching against the Raja, were defeated. On
their return, the Pandavas went to Panchala, and took the Raja prisoner.
After Yudhi-sthira had been appointed Yuva-Raja, a step Dhrita-rashtra was
compelled by the people of Hastinapur to take, the Kauravas declared that
they could no longer remain in the same city with their cousins.
Pages:
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51