Truly death shall approach
thee, O sinless one, having first obtained thy command.'"
SECTION CI
(Sambhava Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'O monarch, after the nuptials were over, king Santanu
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. And
before that bull among men, viz., Vichitravirya, attained to majority, the
wise king Santanu realised the inevitable influence of Time. And after
Santanu had ascended to heaven, Bhishma, placing himself under the command
of Satyavati, installed that suppressor of foes, viz., Chitrangada, on the
throne, who, having soon vanquished by his prowess all monarchs,
considered not any man as his equal. And 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
characterised 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.
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