The Gandharva King's Gift to Arjuna

Arjuna's words angered the king of the Gandharvas, who said, "I am Angaraparna, king of the Gandharvas, renowned for my bravery and power. The part of the forest near this river belongs to me. Not even the gods from Svarga may come here without my permission. This is your last chance—leave at once if you value your lives."

Arjuna responded firmly, "It does not suit a Gandharva king to display such arrogance. It is also foolish to assume that others are inferior or weak. It seems you have never faced a true warrior. I now challenge you to a battle."

Angaraparna pulled his sword from its sheath and flung it at Arjuna, but Arjuna shot an arrow at the sword and destroyed it in midair. He then yelled, "Beware, Angaraparna!" and loosed a flaming arrow at his adversary's chariot. The arrow set the chariot ablaze, and Angaraparna was forced to alight. Severely burned, he fell unconscious to the ground. Arjuna dragged him by the hair and brought him to Yudhishthira.

Angaraparna's wife could not bear to see him in this condition. She begged Yudhishthira to spare her husband's life, saying that it did not befit warriors to take the life of a man who had already been defeated and humiliated before his wife.

In accordance with his mother's command, Yudhishthira released Angaraparna, who had begun to regain consciousness. Arjuna said to him, "Because of my respected mother, we are letting you go. In the future, never show such vanity toward anyone."

Angaraparna expressed his gratitude to the Pandavas for not taking his life. He then addressed Arjuna: "I offer you a gift of divine vision called Chakshushi, which will enable you to see anything occurring anywhere in the universe whenever you wish. I would also like to give you a hundred divine horses, which can assume any color and run at any speed their rider desires." Arjuna politely declined Angaraparna's gift of Chakshushi but said he would accept the hundred horses in the future when he needed them.

In the end, Angaraparna bade the Pandavas farewell. He then mounted his chariot with his wife and returned to Svarga.