Rescue of the Cattle
Arjun decked his mighty stature in the gleaming arms of war,And with voice of distant thunder rolled the mighty battle-car!
And the Kurus marked with wonder Arjun's standard lifted proud,Heard with dread the deep gandiva sounding oft and sounding loud!
And they knew the wondrous bowman wheeling round the battle-car,And with doubts and grave misgivings whispered Drona skilled in war:
"That is Arjun's monkey-standard, how it greets my ancient eyes!Well the Kurus know the standard like a comet in the skies!
Hear ye not the deep gandiva? How my ear its accents greet!Mark ye not these pointed arrows falling prone before my feet?
By these darts his salutation to his teacher loved of old,Years of exile now completed, Arjun sends with greetings bold!
How the gallant prince advances! Now I mark his form and face,Issuing from his dark concealment with a brighter, haughtier grace,
Well I know his bow and arrows and I know his standard well,And the deep and echoing accents of his far-resounding shell!
In his shining arms accoutred, gleaming in his helmet dread,Shines he like the flame of homa by libations duly fed!"
Arjun marked the Kuru warriors arming for th' impending war,Whispered thus to prince Uttara as he drove the battle-car:
"Stop thy steeds, O prince of Matsya! for too close we may not go,Stop thy chariot whence my arrows reach and slay the distant foe,
Seek we out the Kuru monarch, proud Duryodhan let us meet,If he falls we win the battle, other chieftains will retreat.
There is Drona my preceptor, Drona's warlike son is there,Kripa and the mighty Bhishma, archer Karna, tall and fair,
Them I seek not in this battle, lead, O lead thy chariot far,Midst the chiefs Duryodhan moves not, moves not in the ranks of war!
But to save the pilfered cattle speeds he onward in his fear,While these warriors stay and tarry to defend their monarch's rear,
But I leave these car-borne warriors, other work to-day is mine,Meet Duryodhan in the battle, win thy father's stolen kine!"
Matsya's prince then turned the courses, left behind the war's array,Where Duryodhan with the cattle quickly held his onward way,
Kripa marked the course of Arjun, guessed his inmost thought aright,Thus he spake to brother warriors urging speed and instant fight:
"Mark ye, chieftains, gallant Arjun wheels his sounding battle-car,'Gainst our prince and proud Duryodhan seeks to turn the tide of war!
Let us fall upon our foeman and our prince and leader save,Few save INDRA, god of battles, conquers Arjun fierce and brave!
What were Matsya's fattened cattle, many thousands though they be,If our monarch sinks in battle like a ship in stormy sea!"
Vain were Kripa's words of wisdom! Arjun drove the chariot fair,While his shafts like countless locusts whistled through the ambient air!
Kuru soldiers struck with panic neither stood and fought, nor fled,Gazed upon the distant Arjun, gazed upon their comrades dead!
Arjun twanged his mighty weapon, blew his far-resounding shell,Strangely spake his monkey-standard, Kuru warriors knew it well!
Sankha's voice, gandiva's accents, and the chariot's booming sound,Filled the air like distant thunder, shook the firm and solid ground!
Kuru soldiers fled in terror, or they slumbered with the dead,And the rescued lowing cattle, with their tails uplifted, fled!
Words in this poem
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- bowman n.
- A man who uses a bow; an archer.
- wheeling n.
- The act of conveying anything, or traveling, on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle.
- arming n.
- The act of furnishing with, or taking, arms.
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- preceptor n.
- One who gives commands, or makes rules; specifically, the master or principal of a school; a teacher; an instructor. [L. praeceptor, fr. praecipere to teach: cf. F. précepteur. See Precept.]
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- foeman n.
- An enemy in war. [AS. fhman.]
- countless a.
- Incapable of being counted; not ascertainable; innumerable.
- ambient a.
- Encompassing on all sides; circumfused; investing. [L. ambiens, p. pr. of ambire to go around; amb- + ire to go.]
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- lowing n.
- The calling sound made by cows and other bovine animals.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Rescue of the Cattle is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Mahabharata (condensed), Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, the Romesh Chunder Dutt translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Vyasa, Rescue of the Cattle, in The Mahabharata (condensed) (1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mahabharata/rescue-of-the-cattle.html, id L15793.
Form and metre
Rescue of the Cattle is 52 lines in 26 stanzas of 2 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 81% of the lines. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.0 syllables.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic octameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 AA proudA · loudA
- 4 AA eyesA · skiesA
- 5 AA greetA · feetA
- 6 AA oldA · boldA
- 7 AA faceA · graceA
- 8 AA wellA · shellA
- 9 AA dreadA · fedA
- 11 AA goA · foeA
- 12 AA meetA · retreatA
- 13 AA thereA · fairA
- 15 AA fearA · rearA
- 16 AA mineA · kineA
- 17 AA arrayA · wayA
- 18 AA arightA · fightA
- 20 AA saveA · braveA
- 21 AA beA · seaA
- 22 AA fairA · airA
- 23 AA fledA · deadA
- 24 AA shellA · wellA
- 25 AA soundA · groundA
- 26 AA deadA · fledA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Arjun decked his mighty stature in the gleaming arms of war, | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| And with voice of distant thunder rolled the mighty battle-car! | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| And the Kurus marked with wonder Arjun's standard lifted proud, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Heard with dread the deep gandiva sounding oft and sounding loud! | 15 | ········/˘··/˘· |
| And they knew the wondrous bowman wheeling round the battle-car, | 15 | ····/˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And with doubts and grave misgivings whispered Drona skilled in war: | 15 | ·····˘/˘/˘····· |
| "That is Arjun's monkey-standard, how it greets my ancient eyes! | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Well the Kurus know the standard like a comet in the skies! | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| Hear ye not the deep gandiva? How my ear its accents greet! | 15 | ············/˘· |
| Mark ye not these pointed arrows falling prone before my feet? | 15 | ····/˘/˘/˘····· |
| By these darts his salutation to his teacher loved of old, | 15 | ··········/˘··· |
| Years of exile now completed, Arjun sends with greetings bold! | 15 | ··/··˘/˘····/˘· |
| How the gallant prince advances! Now I mark his form and face, | 15 | ··/˘·˘/˘······· |
| Issuing from his dark concealment with a brighter, haughtier grace, | 15 | /˘˘···˘/˘··/··· |
| Well I know his bow and arrows and I know his standard well, | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| And the deep and echoing accents of his far-resounding shell! | 15 | ····/˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| In his shining arms accoutred, gleaming in his helmet dread, | 15 | ··/˘····/˘··/˘· |
| Shines he like the flame of homa by libations duly fed!" | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| Arjun marked the Kuru warriors arming for th' impending war, | 15 | ······/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Whispered thus to prince Uttara as he drove the battle-car: | 15 | /˘··········/˘· |
| "Stop thy steeds, O prince of Matsya! for too close we may not go, | 15 | ··············· |
| Stop thy chariot whence my arrows reach and slay the distant foe, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘····/˘· |
| Seek we out the Kuru monarch, proud Duryodhan let us meet, | 15 | ······/········ |
| If he falls we win the battle, other chieftains will retreat. | 15 | ······/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| There is Drona my preceptor, Drona's warlike son is there, | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/···· |
| Kripa and the mighty Bhishma, archer Karna, tall and fair, | 15 | ····/˘··/˘····· |
| Them I seek not in this battle, lead, O lead thy chariot far, | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| Midst the chiefs Duryodhan moves not, moves not in the ranks of war! | 15 | ··············· |
| But to save the pilfered cattle speeds he onward in his fear, | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| While these warriors stay and tarry to defend their monarch's rear, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘·˘/·/·· |
| But I leave these car-borne warriors, other work to-day is mine, | 15 | ······/˘/˘····· |
| Meet Duryodhan in the battle, win thy father's stolen kine!" | 15 | ······/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Matsya's prince then turned the courses, left behind the war's array, | 15 | ······/˘·····˘/ |
| Where Duryodhan with the cattle quickly held his onward way, | 15 | ······/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Kripa marked the course of Arjun, guessed his inmost thought aright, | 15 | ··········/˘·˘/ |
| Thus he spake to brother warriors urging speed and instant fight: | 15 | ····/˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| "Mark ye, chieftains, gallant Arjun wheels his sounding battle-car, | 15 | ··/˘/˘····/˘/˘· |
| 'Gainst our prince and proud Duryodhan seeks to turn the tide of war! | 15 | ·/············· |
| Let us fall upon our foeman and our prince and leader save, | 15 | ·····//˘·/··/˘· |
| Few save INDRA, god of battles, conquers Arjun fierce and brave! | 15 | ······/˘/˘····· |
| What were Matsya's fattened cattle, many thousands though they be, | 15 | ····/˘/˘/˘/˘··· |
| If our monarch sinks in battle like a ship in stormy sea!" | 15 | ·//···/˘····/˘· |
| Vain were Kripa's words of wisdom! Arjun drove the chariot fair, | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| While his shafts like countless locusts whistled through the ambient air! | 15 | ····/˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Kuru soldiers struck with panic neither stood and fought, nor fled, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘/˘····· |
| Gazed upon the distant Arjun, gazed upon their comrades dead! | 15 | ····/˘······/·· |
| Arjun twanged his mighty weapon, blew his far-resounding shell, | 15 | ····/˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| Strangely spake his monkey-standard, Kuru warriors knew it well! | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Sankha's voice, gandiva's accents, and the chariot's booming sound, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Filled the air like distant thunder, shook the firm and solid ground! | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Kuru soldiers fled in terror, or they slumbered with the dead, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| And the rescued lowing cattle, with their tails uplifted, fled! | 15 | ··/˘/˘/˘···/˘˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.