Chitrangada and Vichitravirya

After the nuptials were over, king Shantanu established his beautiful bride in his household. Soon after was born of Satyavati an intelligent and heroic son of Santanu named Chitrangada. He was endued with great energy and became an eminent man. The lord Santanu of great prowess also begat upon Satyavati another son named Vichitravirya, who became a mighty bowman and who became king after his father. Before Vichitravirya, attained to majority, the wise king Shantanu realized the inevitable influence of Time. After Shantanu had ascended to heaven. Bhishma, placing himself under the command of Satyavati, installed Chitrangada, on the throne, who, having soon vanquished by his prowess all monarchs, considered not any man as his equal. Beholding that he could vanquish men, Asuras, and the very gods, his namesake, the powerful king of the Gandharvas, approached him for an encounter. Between that Gandharva and that foremost one of the Kurus, who were both very powerful, there occurred on the field of Kurukshetra a fierce combat which lasted full three years on the banks of the Saraswati. In that terrible encounter characterized by thick showers of weapons and in which the combatants ground each other fiercely, the Gandharva, who had greater prowess or strategic deception, slew the Kuru prince. Having slain Chitrangada, the Gandharva ascended to heaven. When that tiger among men endued with great prowess was slain, Bhishma performed all his obsequies. He then installed the boy Vichitravirya of mighty arms, still in his minority, on the throne of the Kurus. Vichitravirya, placing himself under the command of Bhishma, ruled the ancestral kingdom. He adored Bhishma who was conversant with all the rules of Dharma and law; so, indeed, Bhishma also protected him that was so obedient to the dictates of duty.

After Chitrangada was slain, his successor Vichitravirya being a minor, Bhishma ruled the kingdom, placing himself under the command of Satyavati. When he saw that his brother, who was the foremost of intelligent men, attained to majority, Bhishma set his heart upon marrying Vichitravirya. At this time he heard that the three daughters of the king of Kasi, all equal in beauty to the Apsaras themselves, would be married on the same occasion, selecting their husbands at a self-choice ceremony. Then that foremost of car-warriors, that vanquisher of all foes, at the command of his mother, went to the city of Varanasi in a single chariot. There Bhishma saw that innumerable monarchs had come from all directions; and there he also saw those three maidens that would select their own husbands. When the assembled kings were each being mentioned by name, Bhishma chose those maidens on behalf of his brother. Taking them upon his chariot, Bhishma addressed the kings, and said in a voice deep as the roar of the clouds,

“The wise have directed that when an accomplished person has been invited, a maiden may be bestowed on him, decked with ornaments and along with many valuable presents. Others again may bestow their daughters by accepting a couple of kine. Some again bestow their daughters by taking a fixed sum, and some take away maidens by force. Some wed with the consent of the maidens, some by drugging them into consent, and some by going unto the maidens' parents and obtaining their sanction. Some again obtain wives as presents for assisting at sacrifices. Of these, the learned always applaud the eighth form of marriage. Kings, however, speak highly of the Swyamvara and themselves wed according to it. But the sages have said that, that wife is dearly to be prized who is taken away by force, after the slaughter of opponents, from amidst the concourse of princes and kings invited to a self-choice ceremony. Therefore, you monarchs, I bear away these maidens hence by force. Strive you, to the best of your might, to vanquish me or to be vanquished. You monarchs, I stand here resolved to fight!”

Kuru prince, endued with great energy, thus addressing the assembled monarchs and the king of Kasi, took upon his car those maidens. Having taken them up, he sped his chariot away, challenging the invited kings to a fight.

The challenged monarchs then all stood up, slapping their arms and biting their nether lips in wrath. Loud was the din produced, as, in a great hurry, they began to cast off their ornaments and put on their armour. the motion of their ornaments and armour, brilliant as these were, resembled meteoric flashes in the sky. With brows contracted and eyes red with rage, the monarchs moved in impatience, their armour and ornaments dazzling or waving with their agitated steps. The charioteers soon brought handsome cars with fine horses harnessed thereto. Those splendid warriors then, equipped with all kinds of weapons, rode on those cars, and with uplifted weapons pursued the retreating chief of the Kurus. Then, occurred the terrible encounter between those innumerable monarchs on one side and the Kuru warrior alone on the other. The assembled monarchs threw at their foe ten thousand arrows at the same time. Bhishma, however speedily checked those numberless arrows before they could come at him by means of a shower of his own arrows as innumerable as the down on the body. Then those kings surrounded him from all sides and rained arrows on him like masses of clouds showering on the mountain-breast. But Bhishma, arresting with his shafts the course of that arrowy downpour, pierced each of the monarchs with three shafts. The latter, in their turn pierced Bhishma, each with five shafts. But, Bhishma checked those by his prowess and pierced each of the contending kings with two shafts. The combat became so fierce with that dense shower of arrows and other missiles that it looked very much like the encounter between the celestials and the Asuras of old, and men of courage who took no part in it were struck with fear even to look at the scene. Bhishma cut off, with his arrows, on the field of battle, bows, and flagstaffs, and coats of mail, and human heads by hundreds and thousands. Such was his terrible prowess and extraordinary lightness of hand, and such the skill with which he protected himself, that the contending car-warriors, though his enemies, began to applaud him loudly. Then that foremost of all wielders of weapons having vanquished in battle all those monarchs, pursued his way towards the capital of the Bharatas, taking those maidens with him.

It was then, that mighty car-warrior, king Salva of immeasurable prowess, from behind summoned Bhishma to an encounter. Desirous of obtaining the maidens, he came upon Bhishma like a mighty leader of a herd of elephants rushing upon another of his kind, and tearing with his tusks the latter's hips at the sight of a female elephant in heat. Salva of mighty arms, moved by wrath addressed Bhishma and said, “Stay, Stay.” Then Bhishma, provoked by these words, flamed up in wrath like a blazing fire. Bow in hand, and brow furrowed into wrinkles, he stayed on his car, in obedience to Kshatriya usage having checked its course in expectation of the enemy. All the monarchs seeing him stop, stood there to become spectators of the coming encounter between him and Salva. The two then began to exhibit their prowess (upon each other) like roaring bulls of great strength at the sight of a cow in rut. Then king Salva covered Bhishma, the son of Santanu with hundreds and thousands of swift-winged shafts. Those monarchs seeing Salva thus covering Bhishma at the outset with innumerable shafts, wondered much and uttered shouts of applause. Beholding his lightness of hand in combat, the crowd of regal spectators became very glad and applauded Salva greatly. Bhishma, then, on hearing those shouts of the Kshatriyas, became very angry and said, “Stay, Stay”. In wrath, he commanded his charioteer, saying, “Lead you my car to where Salva is, so that I may slay him instantly as Garuda slays a serpent.” Then the Kuru chief fixed the Varuna weapon on his bow-string, and with it afflicted the four steeds of king Salva. The Kuru chief, then, warding off with his weapons those of his foe, slew Salva's charioteer. Then Bhishma, fighting for the sake of those damsels, slew with the Aindra weapon the noble steeds of his adversary. He then vanquished that best of monarchs but left him with his life. Salva, after his defeat, returned to his kingdom and continued to rule it virtuously. The other kings also, who had come to witness, the self-choice ceremony returned to their own kingdoms.

Bhishma, after defeating those monarchs, set out with those damsels, for Hastinapura whence the virtuous Kuru prince Vichitravirya ruled the earth like his father Santanu. Passing through many forests, rivers, hills, and woods abounding with trees, he arrived (at the capital) in no time. Bhishma, having slain numberless foes in battle without a scratch on his own person, brought the daughters of the king of Kasi unto the Kurus as tenderly if they were his daughters-in-law, or younger sisters, or daughters. Bhishma of mighty arms, impelled by the desire of benefiting his brother, having by his prowess brought them thus, then offered those maidens possessing every accomplishment unto Vichitravirya. Conversant with the dictates of virtue, Bhishma, having achieved such an extraordinary feat according to (kingly) custom, then began to make preparations for his brother's wedding. When everything about the wedding had been settled by Bhishma in consultation with Satyavati, the eldest daughter of the king of Kasi, with a soft smile, told him these words,

“At heart I had chosen the king of Saubha for my husband. He had, in his heart, accepted me for his wife. This was also approved by my father. At the self-choice ceremony also I would have chosen him as my lord. You are conversant with all the dictates of virtue, knowing all this, do as you like.”

Thus addressed by that maiden in the presence of the Brahmanas, the heroic Bhishma began to reflect as to what should be done. As he was conversant with the rules of virtue, he consulted with the Brahmanas who had mastered the Vedas, and permitted Amba, the eldest daughter of the ruler of Kasi to do as she liked. But he bestowed with due rites the two other daughters, Ambika and Ambalika on his younger brother Vichitravirya. Though Vichitravirya was virtuous and abstemious, yet, proud of youth and beauty, he soon became lustful after his marriage. Both Ambika and Ambalika were of tall stature, and of the complexion of molten gold. Their heads were covered with black curly hair, and their finger-nails were high and red; their hips were fat and round, and their breasts full and deep. Endued with every auspicious mark, the amiable young ladies considered themselves to be wedded to a husband who was every way worthy of themselves, and extremely loved and respected Vichitravirya. Vichitravirya also, endued with the prowess of the celestials and the beauty of the twin Aswins, could steal the heart of any beautiful woman. The prince passed seven years uninterruptedly in the company of his wives. He was attacked while yet in the prime of youth, with phthisis. Friends and relatives in consultation with one another tried to effect a cure. But in spite of all efforts, the Kuru prince died, setting like the evening sun. The virtuous Bhishma then became plunged into anxiety and grief, and in consultation with Satyavati caused the obsequial rites of the deceased to be performed by learned priests and the several of the Kuru race.