Arjuna goes to the world of Indra

After the Lokapalas had gone away, Arjuna began to think of Indra’s car. As he was thinking of it, the car endued with great effulgence and guided by Matali came dividing the clouds, illuminating the firmament and filling the entire welkin with its rattle deep as the roar of mighty masses of clouds. Swords, missiles of terrible forms, maces of frightful description, winged darts of celestials splendour and lightnings of the brightest effulgence, thunderbolts, propellers furnished with wheels and worked with atmosphere expansion and producing sounds loud as the roar of great masses of clouds, were on that car. There were also on that car fierce and huge-bodied Nagas with fiery mouths, and heaps of stones white as the fleecy clouds. The car was drawn by ten thousands of horses of golden hue, endued with the speed of the wind. Furnished with prowess of illusion, the car was drawn with such speed that the eye could hardly mark its progress. Arjuna saw on that car the flag-staff called Vaijayanta, of blazing effulgence, resembling in hue the emerald or the dark-blue lotus, and decked with golden ornaments and straight as the bamboo. Beholding a charioteer decked in gold seated on that car, the mighty-armed son of Pritha regarded it as belonging to the celestials. While Arjuna was occupied with his thoughts regarding the car, the charioteer Matali, bending himself after descending from the car, addressed him, saying: “O lucky son of Indra! Indra himself wishes to see you. Ascend this car that has been sent by Indra, without loss of time. The chief of the immortals, your father has commanded me, saying, ‘Bring the son of Kunti here. Let the gods behold him.’ Indra himself, surrounded by the celestials, Rishis, Gandharvas and Apsaras, waits to behold you. At the command of the chastiser of Paka, therefore, ascend with me to the region of the celestials. You will return after obtaining weapons.”

Arjuna replied: “O Matali! Mount without loss of time this excellent car, a car that cannot be attained even by hundreds of Rajasuya and horse sacrifices. Even kings of great prosperity who have performed great sacrifices distinguished by large gifts, even gods and Danavas are not competent to ride this car. He that has not ascetic merit is not competent to even see or touch this car, far less to ride on it. After you have ascended, it, and after the horses have become still, I will ascend it, like a virtuous man stepping into the high-road of honesty.”

Matali, the charioteer of Indra, hearing these words of Arjuna, soon mounted the car and controlled the horses. Arjuna then, with a cheerful heart, purified himself by a bath in the Ganges. He duly repeated his customary prayers. He then, duly and according to the ordinance, gratified the Pitris with oblations of water. Lastly, he commenced to invoke the Mandara saying, “O mountain! You are ever the refuge of holy, heaven-seeking Munis of virtuous conduct and behaviour. It is through your grace that Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas attain heaven, and their anxieties gone, sport with the celestials. You are the asylum of Munis, and you hold on your breast numerous sacred shrines. Happily have I dwelt on your heights. I leave you now, bidding you farewell. Oft have I seen your tablelands and bowers, your springs and brooks, and the sacred shrines on your breast. I have also eaten the savoury fruits growing on you, and have slated my thirst with draughts of perfumed water oozing from the body. I have also drunk the water of your spring, sweet as amrita itself. As a child sleeps happily on the lap of his father, so have I, sported on your breast, echoing with the notes of Apsaras and the chanting of the Vedas. Every day have I lived happily on your tablelands.”

Thus having bidden farewell to the mountain, Arjuna, blazing like the Sun himself, ascended the celestial car. The Kuru prince gifted with great intelligence, with a glad heart, coursed through the firmament on that celestial car effulgent as the sun and of extra-ordinary achievements. After he had become invisible to the mortals of the earth, he beheld thousands of cars of extra-ordinary beauty. In that region there was no sun or moon or fire to give light, but it blazed in light of its own, generated by virtue of ascetic merit. Those brilliant regions that are seen from the earth in the form of stars, like lamps, so small in consequence of their distance, though very large, were beheld by Arjuna, stationed in their respective places, full of beauty and effulgence and blazing with splendour all their own. There he beheld royal sages crowned with ascetic success, and heroes who had yielded up their lives in battle, and those that had acquired heaven by their ascetic austerities, by hundreds upon hundreds. There were also Gandharvas, of bodies blazing like the sun, by thousands upon thousands, as also Guhyakas and Rishis and numerous tribes of Apsaras. Beholding those self-effulgent regions, Arjuna became filled with wonder, and made enquiries of Matali. Matali also gladly replied unto him, saying, “These, O Arjuna! are virtuous persons stationed in their respective places. It is these whom you have seen, as stars, from the earth.”

Then Arjuna saw standing at the gates the handsome and ever victorious elephant, Airavata, furnished with four tusks, and resembling the mountain of Kailasa with its summits. Coursing along that path of the Siddhas, he sat in beauty like Mandhata. Endued with eyes like lotus leaves, he passed through the region set apart for virtuous kings. The celebrated Arjuna having thus passed through successive regions of heaven at last beheld Amaravati, the city of Indra.

The city of Indra which Arjuna saw was delightful and was the resort of Siddhas and Charanas. It was adorned with the flowers of every season, and with sacred trees of all kinds. He beheld also celestial gardens called Nandana, the favourite resort of Apsaras. Fanned by the fragrant breezes charged with the farina of sweet-scented flowers, the trees with their lord of celestial blossoms seemed to welcome him amongst them. The region was such that none could behold it who had not gone through ascetic austerities, or who had not poured libations on fire. It was a region for the virtuous alone, and not for those who had turned their back on the field of battle. None were competent to see it who had not performed sacrifices or observed rigid vows, or who were without a knowledge of the Vedas, or who had not bathed in sacred waters, or who were not distinguished for sacrifices and gifts. None were competent to see it who were disturbers of sacrifices, or who were low, or who drank intoxicating liquors, or who were violators of their preceptors' bed, or who were eaters of meat, or who were wicked. Having beheld those celestial gardens resounding with celestial music, Arjuna entered the favourite city of Indra. He beheld there celestial cars by thousands, capable of going everywhere at will, stationed in proper places. He saw tens of thousands of such cars moving in every direction. Fanned by pleasant breezes charged with the perfumes of flowers, Arjuna was praised by Apsaras and Gandharvas. The celestials then, accompanied by the Gandharvas, Siddhas and great Rishis, cheerfully reverenced Arjuna. Benedictions were poured upon him, accompanied by the sounds of celestial music. The strong-armed Arjuna then heard around him the music of conchs and drums. Praised all around, he then went, at the command of Indra, to that large and extensive starry way called by the name of Suravithi. There he met with the Sadhyas, the Vishvas, the Marutas, the twin Ashvins, the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Brahmarshis of the great splendour, and numerous royal sages with Dilipa at their head, and Tumbura and Narada, and that couple of Gandharvas known by the names of Haha and Huhu. Arjuna having met and duly saluted them, last of all beheld the chief of the celestials--the god of a hundred sacrifices.

Then the strong-armed Arjuna, alighting from the car approached the lord himself of the gods, his father, that chastiser of Paka. A beautiful white umbrella furnished with a golden staff was held over the chief of the celestials. He was fanned with a Chamara perfumed with celestial scents. He was eulogised by many Gandharvas headed by Vishvavasu and others, by bards and singers, and by foremost Brahmanas chanting Rik and Yajus hymns. The mighty son of Kunti, approaching Indra, saluted him by bending his head to the ground. Indra thereupon embraced him with his round and plump arms. Taking his hand, Indra made him sit by him on a portion of his own seat, that sacred seat which was worshipped by gods and Rishis. The lord of the celestials smelt the head of Arjuna bending in humility, and even took him upon his lap. Seated on Indra's seat at the command of that god of a thousand eyes, Arjuna began to blaze in splendour like a second Indra. Moved by affection, Indra, consoling Arjuna, touched his beautiful face with his own perfumed hands. The wielder of the thunderbolt, patting and rubbing gently again and again with his own hands which bore the marks of the thunderbolt the handsome and huge arms of Arjuna which resembled a couple of golden columns and which were hard in consequence of drawing the bowstring and soon enhanced the beauty of the assembly, like the sun and moon god of a thousand eyes, eyeing his son of curly locks smilingly and with eyes expanded with delight, seemed scarcely to be gratified. The more he gazed, the more he liked to gaze on. Seated on one seat, the father and son enhanced the beauty of the assembly, like the sun and moon beautifying the firmament together on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight.

A band of Gandharvas headed by Tumburu skilled in music sacred and profane, sang many verses in melodious notes. Ghritachi, Menaka, Rambha, Purvachitti, Swayamprabha, Urvashi, Mishrakeshi, Dandagauri, Varuthini, Gopali, Sahajanya, Kumbhayoni, Prajagara, Chitrasena, Chitralekha, Saha, and Madhuraswana, these and others by thousands, possessed of eyes like lotus leaves, who were employed in enticing the hearts of persons practising rigid austerities, danced there. Possessing slim waists and fair large hips, they began to perform various evolutions, shaking their deep bosoms, and casting their glances around, and exhibiting other attractive attitude capable of stealing the hearts and resolutions and minds of the spectators.

The gods and the Gandharvas then, understanding the wishes of Indra, procured an excellent Arghya and reverenced Arjuna in a hurry. Giving water to wash both his feet and face, they caused the prince to enter the palace of Indra. Thus worshipped, Arjuna continued to live in the abode of his father. He continued all the while to acquire celestial weapons, together with the means of withdrawing them. He received from the hands of Indra his favourite weapon of irresistible force, the thunder-bolt and those other weapons also, of tremendous roar, the lightnings of heaven, whose flashes are inferable from the appearance of clouds and peacocks. Arjuna, after he had obtained those weapons, recollected his brothers. At the command of Indra, however, he lived for full five years in heaven, surrounded by every comfort and luxury.