f me. Even if Yama himself by thy foe, with these
in thy hands, he will not be able to escape from thee. When thou wilt
armed with these, range over the field of battle, the land, beyond doubt,
will be destitute of Kshatriyas.'"

Vaisampayana continued, "After both Varuna and Yama had given away their
celestial weapons, the lord of treasures having his home on the heights
of Kailasa, then spake, 'O son of Pandu, O thou of great might and
wisdom, I too have been pleased with thee. And this meeting with thee
giveth me as much pleasure as a meeting with Krishna. O wielder of the
bow with the left hand, O thou of mighty arms, thou wert a god before,
eternal (as other gods). In ancient Kalpas, thou hadst every day gone
through ascetic austerities along with us. O best of men, I grant thee
celestial vision. O thou of mighty arms, thou wilt defeat even invincible
Daityas and Danavas. Accept of me also without loss of time, an excellent
weapon. With this thou wilt be able to consume the ranks of
Dhritarashtra. Take then this favourite weapon of mine called
Antarddhana. Endued with energy and prowess and splendour, it is capable
of sending the foe to sleep. When the illustrious Sankara slew Tripura,
even this was the weapon which he shot and by which many mighty Asuras
were consumed. O thou of invincible prowess I take it up for giving it to
thee. Endued with the dignity of the Meru, thou art competent to hold
this weapon.'"

"After these words had been spoken, the Kuru prince Arjuna endued with
great strength, duly received from Kuvera that celestial weapon. Then the
chief of the celestials addressing Pritha's son of ceaseless deeds in
sweet words, said, in a voice deep as that the clouds or the kettle-drum,
'O thou mighty-armed son of Kunti, thou art an ancient god. Thou hast
already achieved the highest success, and acquired the statue of a god.
But, O represser of foes, thou hast yet to accomplish the purposes of the
gods. Thou must ascend to heaven. Therefore prepare thou O hero of great
splendour! My own car with Matali as charioteer, will soon descend on the
earth. Taking thee, O Kaurava, to heaven, I will grant thee there all my
celestial weapons.'"

"Beholding those protectors of the worlds assembled together on the
heights of Himavat, Dhananjaya, the son of Kunti, wondered much, Endued
with great energy, he then duly worshipped the assembled Lokapalas, with
words, water, and fruits. The celestials then returning that