the fame of thy achievements will last for ever in the
world: thou hast gratified Mahadeva himself in conflict. Thou shalt,
with Vishnu himself, lighten the burden of the earth. O accept this
weapon of mine--the mace I wield incapable of being baffled by any body.
With this weapon thou wilt achieve great deeds.'"

Vaisampayana continued, "O Janamejaya, the son of Pritha then received
from Yama that weapon duly, along with the _Mantras_ and rite, and the
mysteries of hurling and withdrawing it. Then Varuna, the lord of all
aquatic creatures, blue as the clouds, from a summit he had occupied on
the west, uttered these words, 'O son of Pritha, thou art the foremost
of Kshatriyas, and engaged in Kshatriya practices. O thou of large
coppery eyes, behold me! I am Varuna, the lord of waters. Hurled by me,
my nooses are incapable of being resisted. O son of Kunti, accept of me
these Varuna weapons along with the mysteries of hurling and withdrawing
them. With these, O hero, in the battle that ensued of your on account
of Taraka (the wife of Vrihaspati), thousands of mighty Daityas were
seized and tied. Accept them of 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