od-like and
mighty warriors by hundreds, furnished with weapons, and eager for
battle, each donned his corselet. And then they yoked unto their
excellent cars of white-hue steeds equipped in mail. And then was
hoisted Matsya's glorious standard on his excellent car decked with gold
and resembling the sun or the moon in its effulgence. And other Kshatriya
warriors also raised on their respective cars gold-decked standards of
various shapes and devices. And king Matsya then addressed his brother
Satanika born immediately after him, saying, 'Kanka and Vallava and
Tantripala and Damagranthi of great energy will, as it appears to me
fight, without doubt. Give thou unto them cars furnished with banners and
let them case their persons in beautiful coats of mail that should be
both invulnerable and easy to wear. And let them also have weapons.
Bearing such martial forms and possessed of arms resembling the trunk of
mighty elephants, I can never persuade myself that they cannot fight.'
Hearing these words of the king, Satanika, O monarch, immediately ordered
cars for those sons of Pritha, viz., the royal Yudhishthira, and Bhima,
and Nakula, and Sahadeva, and commanded by the king, the charioteers,
with cheerful hearts and keeping loyalty in view, very soon got cars
ready (for the Pandavas). And those repressers of foes then donned those
beautiful coats of mail, invulnerable and easy to wear, that Virata had
ordered for those heroes of spotless fame. And mounted on cars yoked with
good steeds, those smiters of hostile ranks, those foremost of men, the
sons of Pritha, set out with cheerful hearts. Indeed, those mighty
warriors skilled in fight, those bulls of the Kuru race and sons of
Pandu, those four heroic brothers possessed of prowess incapable of being
baffled, mounting on cars decked with gold, together set out, following
Virata's wake. And infuriate elephants of terrible mien, full sixty years
of age, with shapely tusks and rent temples and juice trickling down and
looking (on that account) like cloud pouring rain and mounted by trained
warriors skilled in fight, followed the king like unto moving hills. And
the principal warriors of Matsya who cheerfully followed the king had
eight thousand cars, a thousand elephants and sixty thousand horses. And,
O bull among the Bharatas, that force of Virata, O king, as it marched
forth marking the footprints of the cattle looked exceedingly beautiful.
And on its march that foremost of a