Mahabharata on Strength

Then Arjuna endeavoured to string his large, indestructible, celestial bow with some effort. He succeeded with great difficulty in stringing it, when the battle had become furious. He then began to think of his celestial weapons but they would not come to his mind. Beholding that furious battle, the loss of the might of his arm, and the non-appearance of his celestial weapons, Arjuna became greatly ashamed. The Vrishni warriors including the foot-soldiers, the elephant-warriors, and the car-men, failed to rescue those Vrishni women that were being snatched away by the robbers. The concourse was very large. The robbers assailed it at different points. Arjuna tried his best to protect it, but could not succeed. In the very sight of all the warriors, many foremost of ladies were dragged away, while others went away with the robbers of their own accord. The puissant Arjuna, supported by the servants of the Vrishnis, struck the robbers with shafts sped from Gandiva. Soon, however, O king, his shafts were exhausted. In former days his shafts had been inexhaustible. Now, however, they proved otherwise. Finding his shafts exhausted, he became deeply afflicted with grief. The son of Indra then began to strike the robbers with the horns of his bow. Those Mlecchas, however, O Janamejaya, in the very sight of Partha, retreated, taking away with them many foremost ladies of the Vrishnis and Andhakas. The puissant Dhananjaya regarded it all as the work of destiny. Filled with sorrow he breathed heavy sighs at the thought of the non-appearance of his (celestial) weapons, the loss of the might of his arms, the refusal of his bow to obey him, and the exhaustion of his shafts. Regarding it all as the work of destiny, he became exceedingly cheerless. He then ceased, O king, to make further efforts, saying, he had not the power which he had before. The high-souled one, taking with him the remnant of the Vrishni women, and the wealth that was still with them, reached Kurukshetra.

"'Vyasa said, "The mighty car-warriors of the Vrishni and the Andhaka races have all been consumed by the Brahmana's curse. O chief of Kuru's race, it behoveth thee not to grieve for their destruction. That which has happened had been ordained. It was the destiny of those high-souled warriors. Krishna suffered it to take place although he was fully competent to baffle it. Govinda was able to alter the very course of the universe with all its mobile and immobile creatures. What need then be said of the curse of even high-souled Brahmanas? He who used to proceed in front of thy car, armed with discus and mace, through affection for thee, was the four-armed Vasudeva, that ancient rishi. That high-souled one of expansive eyes, Krishna, having lightened the burthen of the Earth and cast off his (human) body, has attained to his own high seat. By thee also, O foremost of men, with Bhima for thy helpmate and the twins, O mighty-armed hero, has the great work of the gods been accomplished. O foremost one of Kuru's race, I regard thee and thy brothers as crowned with success, for ye have accomplished the great purpose of your lives. The time has come for your departure from the world. Even this, O puissant one, is what is beneficial for you now. Even thus, understanding and prowess and foresight, O Bharata, arise when days of prosperity have not outrun. These very acquisitions disappear when the hour of adversity comes. All this has Time for its root. Time is, indeed, the seed of the universe, O Dhananjaya. It is Time, again, that withdraws everything at its pleasure. One becomes mighty, and, again, losing that might, becomes weak. One becomes a master and rules others, and, again, losing that position, becomes a servant for obeying the behests of others. Thy weapons, having achieved success, have gone away to the place they came from. They will, again, come into thy hands when the Time for their coming approaches.

“My father Kanwa, in answer to that Rishi’s enquiries, said, ‘Viswamitra, of old, having been engaged in the austerest penances alarmed Indra, the chief of the celestials, who thought that the mighty ascetic of blazing energy would, by his penances, hurl him down from his high seat in heaven.’ Indra, thus alarmed, summoned Menaka and told her, ‘Thou, O Menaka, art the first of celestial Apsaras. Therefore, O amiable one, do me this service. Hear what I say. This great ascetic Viswamitra like unto the Sun in splendour, is engaged in the most severe of penances. My heart is trembling with fear. Indeed, O slender-waisted Menaka, this is thy business. Thou must see that Viswamitra of soul rapt in contemplation and engaged in the austerest penances, who might hurl me down from my seat. Go and tempt him and frustrating his continued austerities accomplish my good. Win him away from his penances, O beautiful one, by tempting him with thy beauty, youth, agreeableness, arts, smiles and speech.’ Hearing all this, Menaka replied, ‘The illustrious Viswamitra is endued with great energy and is a mighty ascetic. He is very short-tempered too, as is known to thee. The energy, penances, and wrath of the high-souled one have made even thee anxious. Why should I not also be anxious? He it was who made even the illustrious Vasishtha bear the pangs of witnessing the premature death of his children. He it was who, though at first born as Kshatriya, subsequently became a Brahmana by virtue of his ascetic penances. He it was who, for purposes of his ablutions, created a deep river that can with difficulty be forded, and which sacred stream is known by the name of the Kausiki. It was Viswamitra whose wife, in a season of distress, was maintained by the royal sage Matanga (Trisanku) who was then living under a father’s curse as a hunter. It was Viswamitra who, on returning after the famine was over, changed the name of the stream having his asylum from Kausik into Para.

“Vaisampayana said, ‘After Vyasa had gone away, those bulls among men, the Pandavas, saluted the Brahmana and bade him farewell, and proceeded (towards Panchala) with joyous hearts and with their mother walking before them. Those slayers of all foes, in order to reach their destination, proceeded in a due northerly direction, walking day and night till they reached a sacred shrine of Siva with the crescent mark on his brow. Then those tigers among men, the sons of Pandu, arrived at the banks of the Ganga. Dhananjaya, that mighty car-warrior, walking before them, torch in hand, for showing the way and guarding them (against wild animals). And it so happened that at that time the proud king of the Gandharvas, with his wives, was sporting in that solitary region in the delightful waters of the Ganga. The king of the Gandharvas heard the tread of the Pandavas as they approached the river. On hearing the sounds of their foot-steps, the mighty Gandharvas were inflamed with wrath, and beholding those chastisers of foes, the Pandavas, approach towards him with their mother, he drew his frightful bow to a circle and said, ‘It is known that excepting the first forty seconds the grey twilight preceding nightfall hath been appointed for the wandering of the Yakshas, the Gandharvas and the Rakshasas, all of whom are capable of going everywhere at will. The rest of the time hath been appointed for man to do his work. If therefore, men, wandering during those moments from greed of gain, come near us, both we and the Rakshasas slay those fools. Therefore, persons acquainted with the Vedas never applaud those men--not even kings at the head of their troops--who approach any pools of water at such a time. Stay ye at a distance, and approach me not. Know ye not that I am bathing in the waters of the Bhagirathi? Know that I am Angaraparna the Gandharva, ever relying on my own strength! I am proud and haughty and am the friend of Kuvera.

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Thus addressed by Duryodhana, Karna said, ‘It doth not seem to me, O Duryodhana, that thy reasoning is well-founded. O perpetuator of the Kuru race, no method will succeed against the Pandavas. O brave prince, thou hast before, by various subtle means, striven to carry out thy wishes. But ever hast thou failed to slay thy foes. They were then living near thee, O king! They were then unfledged and of tender years, but thou couldst not injure them then. They are now living at a distance, grown up, full-fledged. The sons of Kunti, O thou of firm resolution, cannot now be injured by any subtle contrivances of thine. This is my opinion. As they are aided by the very Fates, and as they are desirous of regaining their ancestral kingdom, we can never succeed in injuring them by any means in our power. It is impossible to create disunion amongst them. They can never be disunited who have all taken to a common wife. Nor can we succeed in estranging Krishna from the Pandavas by any spies of ours. She chose them as her lords when they were in adversity. Will she abandon them now that they are in prosperity? Besides women always like to have many husbands, Krishna hath obtained her wish. She can never be estranged from the Pandavas. The king of Panchala is honest and virtuous; he is not avaricious. Even if we offer him our whole kingdom he will not abandon the Pandavas. Drupada’s son also possesseth every accomplishment, and is attached to the Pandavas. Therefore, I do not think that the Pandavas can now be injured by any subtle means in thy power. But, O bull amongst men, this is what is good and advisable for us now, viz., to attack and smite them till they are exterminated. Let this course recommend itself to thee. As long as our party is strong and that of the king of the Panchalas is weak, so long strike them without any scruple.

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Hearing these words of the ascetics, that foremost of men endued with mighty arms, though dissuaded by them went to behold those waters. Arrived at the excellent sacred water called Saubhadra after a great Rishi, the brave scorcher of all foes suddenly plunged into it to have a bath. As soon as that tiger among men had plunged into the water a great crocodile (that was in it) seized him by the leg. But the strong-armed Dhananjaya the son of Kunti, that foremost of all men endued with might, seized that struggling ranger of the water and dragged it forcibly to the shore. But dragged by the renowned Arjuna to the land, that crocodile became (transformed into) a beautiful damsel bedecked with ornament. O king, that charming damsel of celestial form seemed to shine for her beauty and complexion. Dhananjaya, the son of Kunti, beholding that strange sight, asked that damsel with a pleased heart, ‘Who art thou, O beautiful one? Why hast thou been a ranger of the waters? Why also didst thou commit such a dreadful sin?’ The damsel replied, saying, ‘I am, O mighty-armed one, an Apsara that sported in the celestial woods. I am, O mighty one, Varga by name, and ever dear unto the celestial treasurer (Kuvera). I have four other companions, all handsome and capable of going everywhere at will. Accompanied by them I was one day going to the abode of Kuvera. On the way we beheld a Brahmana of rigid vows, and exceedingly handsome, studying the Vedas in solitude. The whole forest (in which he was sitting) seemed to be covered with his ascetic splendour. He seemed to have illuminated the whole region like the Sun himself. Beholding his ascetic devotion of that nature and his wonderful beauty, we alighted in that region, in order to disturb his meditations. Myself and Saurabheyi and Samichi and Vudvuda and Lata, approached that Brahmana, O Bharata, at the same time. We began to sing and smile and otherwise tempt that Brahmana.

He hath two friends that are like unto the immortals, and in point of strength the foremost of all men endued with might. They are called Hansa and Dimvaka who are both incapable of being slain by weapons. The mighty Jarasandha, being united with them, becomes incapable, I think, of being vanquished by even the three worlds. O thou foremost of all intelligent men, this is not our opinion alone but all other kings also are of the same mind. There lived, O monarch, a king of the name of Hansa, who was slain by Rama (Valadeva) after a battle of eighteen days. But, O Bharata, hearing people say that Hansa had been killed, Dimvaka, O king, thought that he could not live without Hansa. He accordingly jumped into the waters of the Yamuna and killed himself. Afterwards when Hansa, the subjugator of hostile heroes, heard that Dimvaka, had killed himself, he went to the Yamuna and jumped into its waters. Then, O bull of the Bharata race, king Jarasandha, hearing that both Hansa and Dimvaka had been killed, returned to his kingdom with an empty heart. After Jarasandha had returned, O slayer of all foes, we were filled with pleasure and continued to live at Mathura. Then the widow of Hansa and the daughter of Jarasandha, that handsome woman with eyes like lotus-petals, grieved at the death of her lord, went unto her father, and repeatedly urged, O Monarch, the king of Magadha, saying,--O slayer of all foes, kill thou the slayer of my husband.--Then, O great king, remembering the conclusion to which we had come of old we became exceedingly cheerless and fled from Mathura. Dividing our large wealth into small portions so as to make each portion easily portable, we fled from fear of Jarasandha, with our cousins and relatives. Reflecting upon everything, we fled towards the west. There is a delightful town towards the west called Kusasthali, adorned by the mountains of Raivata. In that city, O monarch, we took up our abode.

“Vaisampayana continued,--Then, O Bharata, Bhishma the son of Santanu, judged it by his intelligence that on earth Krishna was the foremost of all. And he said--‘As is the sun among all luminous objects, so is the one (meaning Krishna) (who shines like the sun) among us all, in consequence of his energy, strength and prowess. And this our sacrificial mansion is illuminated and gladdened by him as a sunless region by the sun, or a region of still air by a gust of breeze. Thus commanded by Bhishma, Sahadeva endued with great prowess duly presented the first Arghya of excellent ingredients unto Krishna of the Vrishni race. Krishna also accepted it according to the forms of the ordinance. But Sisupala could not bear to see that worship offered unto Vasudeva. And this mighty king of Chedi, reproving in the midst of that assembly both Bhishma and. Yudhishthira, censured Vasudeva thereafter.”

“Rama said, ‘The blame is mine, O father, that like a stag in the wood, thou hast been shot dead with arrows, by those mean and stupid wretches--the sons of Kartavirya. And O father, virtuous and unswerving from the path of righteousness and inoffensive to all animated beings as thou wert, how came it to be permitted by Fate that thou shouldst die in this way? What an awful sin must have been committed by them, who have killed thee with hundreds of sharpened shafts, although thou wert an aged man, and engaged in penances at the time and absolutely averse to fighting with them. With what face will those shameless persons speak of this deed of theirs to their friends and servants, viz., that they have slain an unassisted and unresisting virtuous man?--O protector of men, thus he, great in penance, bewailed much in a piteous manner, and then performed the obsequies of his departed sire. And Rama, the conqueror of hostile cities, cremated his father on the funeral pyre, and vowed, O scion of Bharata’s race, the slaughter of the entire military caste, and of exceeding strength in the field of battle, and possessed of valour suited to a heroic soul, and comparable to the god of death himself, he took up his weapon in wrathful mood, and singlehanded put Kartavirya’s sons to death. And, O chieftain of the military caste, Rama, the leader of all capable of beating their foes, thrice smote down all the Kashatriya followers of Kartavirya’s sons. And seven times did that powerful lord exterminate the military tribes of the earth. In the tract of land, called Samantapanchaka five lakes of blood were made by him. There the mightiest scion of Bhrigu’s race offered libations to his forefathers--the Bhrigus, and Richika appeared to him in a visible form, and spake to him words of counsel. Then the son of Jamadagni of dreaded name, performed a mighty sacrifice and gratified the lord of the celestials, and bestowed the earth to the ministering priests.

“Hearing the words of the high-souled Lomasa, the son of Pandu reverentially worshipped the river (Ganga), flowing through the firmament. And after having adored her the pious sons of Pandu resumed their journey accompanied by the sages. And it came to pass that those best of men beheld at a distance some white object of vast proportions, even like Meru and stretching on all sides. And knowing that Pandu’s sons were intent upon asking (him), Lomasa versed in speech said, ‘Hear, O sons of Pandu! O best of men, what ye see before you, of vast proportions like unto a mountain and beautiful as the Kailasa cliff, is a collection of the bones of the mighty Daitya Naraka, Being placed on a mountain, it looketh like one. The Daitya was slain by that Supreme Soul, the eternal God Vishnu, for the good of the lord of celestials. Aiming at the possession of Indra’s place, by the force of austere and Vedic lore, that mighty-minded (demon) had practised austere penances for ten thousand years. And on account of his asceticism, as also of the force and might of his arms he had grown invincible and always harassed (Indra). And O sinless one, knowing his strength and austerities and observance of religious vows, Indra became agitated and was overwhelmed with fear. And mentally he thought of the eternal deity, Vishnu. And thereat the graceful lord of the universe, who is present everywhere, appeared and stood before him manifest. And the sages and celestials began to propitiate Vishnu with prayers. And in his presence even Agni of the six attributes and of blazing beauty being overpowered by his effulgence, became shorn of radiance and seeing before him the God Vishnu, the chief of the celestials who wields the thunder-bolt, bowing with head down readily apprised Vishnu of the source of his fear. Thereupon Vishnu said, ‘I know, O Sakra, that thy fear proceedeth from Naraka, that lord of the Daityas. By the merit of his successful ascetic acts he aimeth at Indra’s position.

And there came athletes from all quarters by thousands, like hosts of celestials to the abode of Brahma or of Siva to witness that festival. And they were endued with huge bodies and great prowess, like the demons called Kalakhanjas. And elated with their prowess and proud of their strength, they were highly honoured by the king. And their shoulders and waists and necks were like those of lions, and their bodies were very clean, and their hearts were quite at ease. And they had many a time won success in the lists in the presence of kings. And amongst them there was one who towered above the rest and challenged them all to a combat. And there was none that dared to approach him as he proudly stalked in the arena. And when all the athletes stood sad and dispirited, the king of the Matsyas made him fight with his cook. And urged by the king, Bhima made up his mind reluctantly, for he could not openly disobey the royal behest. And that tiger among men then having worshipped the king, entered the spacious arena, pacing with the careless steps of a tiger. And the son of Kunti then girded up his loins to the great delight of the spectators. And Bhima then summoned to the combat that athlete known by the name of Jimuta who was like unto the Asura Vritra whose prowess was widely known. And both of them were possessed of great courage, and both were endued with terrible prowess. And they were like a couple of infuriate and huge-bodied elephants, each sixty years old. And those brave tigers among men then cheerfully engaged in a wrestling combat, desirous of vanquishing each other. And terrible was the encounter that took place between them, like the clash of the thunderbolt against the stony mountain-breast. And both of them were exceedingly powerful and extremely delighted at each other’s strength. And desirous of vanquishing each other, each stood eager to take advantage of his adversary’s lapse.

Vaisampayana continued, “Having said this, the mighty-armed Bhima desirous of slaying the Kichakas, began to swell his body. And carefully changing his attire, he went out of the palace by a wrong egress. And climbing over a wall by the aid of a tree, he proceeded towards the cemetery whither the Kichakas had gone. And having leapt over the wall, and gone out of the excellent city, Bhima impetuously rushed to where the Sutas were. And, O monarch, proceeding towards the funeral pyre he beheld a large tree, tall as palmyra-palm, with gigantic shoulders and withered top. And that slayer of foes grasping with his arms that tree measuring ten Vyamas, uprooted it, even like an elephant, and placed it upon his shoulders. And taking up that tree with trunk and branches and measuring ten Vyamas, that mighty hero rushed towards the Sutas, like Yama himself, mace in hand. And by the impetus of his rush[18] banians and peepals and Kinsukas falling down on the earth lay in clusters. And beholding that Gandharva approach them like a lion in fury, all the Sutas trembling with fear and greatly distressed, became panic-struck. And they addressed each other, saying, ‘Lo, the powerful Gandharva cometh hither, filled with rage, and with an upraised tree in hand. Let Sairindhri, therefore, from whom this danger of ours hath arisen, be set free.’ And beholding the tree that had been uprooted by Bhimasena, they set Draupadi free and ran breathlessly towards the city. And seeing them run away, Bhima, that mighty son of the Wind-god, despatched, O foremost of kings, by means of that tree, a hundred and five of them unto the abode of Yama, like the wielder of the thunderbolt slaying the Danavas. And setting Draupadi free from her bonds, he then, O king, comforted her. And that mighty-armed and irrepressible Vrikodara, the son of Pandu, then addressed the distressed princess of Panchala with face bathed in tears, saying, ‘Thus, O timid one, are they slain that wrong thee without cause.

“Baladeva said, ‘You have all listened to the speech of him who is the elder brother of Gada, characterised as it is by a sense of virtue and prudence, and salutary alike to Yudhishthira and king Duryodhana. These valiant sons of Kunti are ready to give up half their kingdom, and they make this sacrifice for the sake of Duryodhana. The sons of Dhritarashtra, therefore, should give up half of the kingdom, and should rejoice and be exceedingly happy with us that the quarrel can be so satisfactorily settled. These mighty persons having obtained the kingdom would, no doubt, be pacified and happy, provided the opposite party behave well. For them to be pacified will redound to the welfare of men. And I should be well-pleased if somebody from here, with the view of pacifying both the Kurus and the Pandavas, should undertake a journey and ascertain what is the mind of Duryodhana and explain the views of Yudhishthira. Let him respectfully salute Bhishma the heroic scion of Kuru’s race, and the magnanimous son of Vichitravirya, and Drona along with his son, and Vidura and Kripa, and the king of Gandhara, along with the Suta’s son. Let him also pay his respects to all the other sons of Dhritarashtra, to all who are renowned for strength and learning, devoted to their proper duties, heroic, and conversant with signs of the times. When all these persons are gathered together and when also the elderly citizens are assembled, let him speak words full of humility and likely to serve the interests of Yudhishthira. At all events, let them not be provoked, for they have taken possession of the kingdom with a strong hand. When Yudhishthira had his throne, he forgot himself by being engaged in gambling and was dispossessed by them of his kingdom. This valiant Kuru, this descendant of Ajamida, Yudhishthira, though not skilled in dice and though dissuaded by all his friends, challenged the son of the king of Gandhara, an adept at dice, to the match.

And in the same way king Bhagadatta, gladdening the heart of Dhritarashtra’s son, gave an Akshauhini of troops to him. And the unassailable mass of his troops, crowded with Chins and Kiratas, all looking like figures of gold, assumed a beauty like to that of a forest of Karnikara trees. And so the valiant Bhurisravas, and Salya, O son of Kuru, came to Duryodhana, with an Akshauhini of troops each. And Kritavarman, the son of Hridika, accompanied by the Bhojas, the Andhas, and the Kukuras, came to Duryodhana with an Akshauhini of troops. And the body of his troops composed of those mighty soldiers, who wore on their persons garlands of many-coloured flowers, looked as graceful as a number of sportive elephants that have passed through a wood. And others led by Jayadratha, the dwellers of the land of Sindhusauvira, came in such force that the hills seemed to tremble under their tread. And their force, counting an Akshauhini, looked like a mass of clouds moved by the wind. And Sudakshina, the king of the Kamvojas, O ruler of men, accompanied by the Yavanas and Sakas, came to the Kuru chief with an Akshauhini of troops. And the body of his troops that looked like a flight of locusts, meeting with the Kuru force, was absorbed and disappeared in it. And similarly came king Nila, the resident of the city of the Mahishmati, with mighty soldiers from the southern country who carried weapons of pretty make. And the two kings of Avanti, accompanied by a mighty force, brought to Duryodhana, each a separate Akshauhini of troops. And those tigers among men, the five royal brothers, the princes of Kekaya, hastened to Duryodhana with an Akshauhini of troops, and gladdened his heart. And from the illustrious king of other quarters there came, O best of Bharata’s race, three large divisions of troops. And thus Duryodhana had a force which numbered eleven Akshauhinis all eager to fight with the sons of Kunti, and bristling with banners of various forms.

“Bhishma continued, ‘Having heard these words, Sakra went to the spot where those two were practising ascetic austerities, accompanied by all the celestials and having Vrihaspati at their head. At that time, the dwellers of heaven had been very much alarmed in consequence of a war raging between themselves and the Asuras. And Indra asked that illustrious couple to grant him a boon. Thus solicited, O best of the Bharata race, those two said,--“Name thou the boon.”--Upon this Sakra said unto them,--“Give us your aid.”--They then said unto Sakra,--“We will do what thou wishest.” And then it was with their aid that Sakra subsequently vanquished the Daityas and the Danavas. The chastiser of foes, Nara, slew in battle hundreds and thousands of Indra’s foes among the Paulomas and the Kalakhanjas. It was this Arjuna, who, riding on a whirling car, severed in battle, with a broad-headed arrow, the head of the Asura Jambha while the latter was about to swallow him. It was he who afflicted (the Daitya city of Hiranyapura) on the other side of the ocean, having vanquished in battle sixty thousands of Nivatakavachas. It was this conqueror of hostile towns, this Arjuna of mighty arms, that gratified Agni, having vanquished the very gods with Indra at their head. And Narayana also hath, in this world, destroyed in the same way numberless other Daityas and Danavas. Even such are those two of mighty energy that are now seen united with each other. It hath been heard by us that the two heroic and mighty car-warriors, Vasudeva and Arjuna, that are now united with each other, are those same ancient gods, the divine Nara and Narayana. Amongst all on earth they are incapable of being vanquished by the Asuras and the gods headed by Indra himself. That Narayana is Krishna, and that Nara is Falguna. Indeed, they are one Soul born in twain. These two, by their acts, enjoy numerous eternal and inexhaustible regions, and are repeatedly born in those worlds when destructive wars are necessary.

What mortal man is there, of flesh and blood, who would encounter in battle Yudhishthira and Bhimasena, the invincible Vibhatsu and Sahadeva, myself, thyself and Rama, O Kesava, and Satyaki of mighty energy, Virata with his sons, Drupada with his allies, and Dhrishtadyumna, O Madhava, and the ruler of Kasi of great prowess and Dhrishtaketu the lord of the Chedis? No sooner wilt thou go there than thou wilt, without doubt, accomplish, O thou of mighty arms, the desired object of king Yudhishthira the just. Vidura, and Bhishma and Drona and Vahlika, these talents, O sinless one, will understand thee when thou wouldst utter words of wisdom. They will solicit that ruler of men, Dhritarashtra and Suyodhana of sinful disposition, with his counsellors, to act according to the advice. When thou, O Janardana, art the speaker and Vidura the listener, what subject is there that cannot be rendered smooth and plain?’”

But know that all the sons of Dhritarashtra have come to the conclusion that they would not give unto the Pandavas what, indeed, the latter have a right to. With those that are so resolved thy words will certainly prove vain. Where, O slayer of Madhu, words, good or bad, are of the same effect, no wise man would spend his breath for nothing, like a singer before the deaf. As a Brahmana before a conclave of Chandalas, thy words, O Madhava, would command no respect among those ignorant and wicked wretches that have no reverence for all that deserveth reverence. Foolish, as long as he hath strength, he will never obey thy counsels. Whatever words thou mayest speak to him will be perfectly futile. It doth not seem proper to me, O Krishna, that thou shouldst go into the midst of these wicked-minded wretches seated together. It doth not seem proper to me, O Krishna, that going thither thou shouldst utter words against those wicked-souled, foolish, unrighteous wights, strong in number. In consequence of their having never worshipped the aged, in consequence of their having been blinded by prosperity and pride, and owing to the pride of youth and wrath, they will never accept the good advice thou mayest place before them. He hath mustered a strong force, O Madhava, and he hath his suspicions of thyself. He will, therefore, never obey any counsel that thou mayest offer. The sons of Dhritarashtra, O Janardana, are inspired with the firm belief that at present Indra himself, at the head of all the celestials, is incapable of defeating them in battle. Efficacious as thy words always are, they will prove to be of no efficacy with persons impressed with such a conviction and who always follow the impulses of lust and wrath. Staying in the midst of his ranks of elephants and his army consisting of cars and heroic infantry, the foolish and wicked Duryodhana, with all fears dispelled, regardeth the whole earth to have already been subjugated by him.

“‘Bhishma said, “Listen, O Duryodhana, to this history, with all these lords of earth, as to why I will not slay Sikhandin even if I behold him in battle! My father, Santanu, O king, was celebrated over all the world. O bull of the Bharata race, that king of virtuous soul paid his debt to nature in time. Observing my pledge, O chief of the Bharatas, I then installed my brother, Chitrangada, on the throne of the extensive kingdom of the Kurus. After Chitrangada’s demise, obedient to the counsels of Satyavati, I installed, according to the ordinance, Vichitravirya as king. Although young in age, yet being installed duly by me, O monarch, the virtuous Vichitravirya looked up to me in everything. Desirous of marrying him, I set my heart upon procuring daughters from a suitable family. (At that time) I heard, O thou of mighty arms, that three maidens, all unrivalled for beauty, daughters of the ruler of Kasi, by name Amva, Amvika, and Amvalika would select husbands for themselves, and that all the kings of the earth, O bull of the Bharata’s race, had been invited. Amongst those maidens Amva was the eldest, Amvika the second, while the princess Amvalika, O monarch, was the youngest. Myself repairing on a single car to the city of the ruler of Kasi, I beheld, O thou of mighty arms, the three maidens adorned with ornaments and also all the kings of the earth invited thither on the occasion. Then, O bull of Bharata’s race, challenging to battle all those kings who were ready for the encounter, I took up those maidens on my car and repeatedly said unto all the kings assembled there these words--‘Bhishma, the son of Santanu, is carrying away by force these maidens. Ye kings, strive ye all to the best of your power for rescuing them! By force do I take them away, ye bulls among men, making you spectators of my act!’--At these words of mine those rulers of the earth sprang up with weapons unsheathed.

“‘Bhishma said, “After the battle had ceased, my charioteer, well-skilled in such operations, drew out from his own body, from the bodies of my steeds, and from my body as well, the arrows that struck there. Next morning, when the sun rose, the battle commenced again, my horses having (a little while before) been bathed and allowed to roll on the ground and having had their thirst slaked and thereby re-invigorated. And beholding me coming quickly to the encounter attired in a coat of mail and stationed on my car, the mighty Rama equipped his car with great care. And I myself also, beholding Rama coming towards me from desire of battle, placed aside my bow and quickly descended from my car. Saluting Rama I re-ascended it, O Bharata, and desirous of giving battle, stood fearlessly before that son of Jamadagni. I then overwhelmed him with a thick shower of arrows, and he too covered me with an arrowy shower in return. And filled with wrath, Jamadagni’s son once more shot at me a number of fierce shafts of great force and blazing mouths looking like veritable snakes! And I too, O king, shooting sharp shafts by hundreds and thousands, repeatedly cut off Rama’s arrows in mid-air before they could come at me. Then the mighty son of Jamadagni began to hurl celestial weapons at me, all of which I repelled, desirous of achieving mightier feats, O thou of strong arms, with my weapons. And loud was the din that then arose in the welkin all around. At that time, I hurled at Rama the weapon named Vayavya which Rama neutralised, O Bharata, by the weapon called Guhyaka. Then I applied, with proper mantras, the weapon called Agneya but the lord Rama neutralised that weapon of mine by one (of his) called Varuna. And it was in this way that I neutralised the celestial weapons of Rama, and that chastiser of foes, Rama also, endued with great energy and acquainted with celestial weapons, neutralised the weapons shot by me.

Sanjaya said, “Hear, O king, quietly about thy transgressions. It behoveth thee not to impute the fruit to Duryodhana. As is the construction of an embankment when the waters have disappeared, so is thy understanding, or, it is like the digging of a well when a house is on fire.[350] When, after the forenoon had passed away, the commander Sweta was, O Bharata, slain by Bhishma in that fierce conflict, Virata’s son Sankha, that grinder of hostile ranks ever delighting in battle, beholding Salya stationed with Kritavarman (on his car), suddenly blazed up with wrath, like fire with clarified butter. That mighty warrior, stretching his large bow that resembled the bow of Indra himself, rushed with the desire of slaying the ruler of the Madras in battle, himself supported on all sides by a large division of cars. And Sankha, causing an arrowy downpour rushed towards the car on which Salya was. And beholding him advancing like an infuriate elephant, seven mighty car-warriors of thy side surrounded him--desirous of rescuing the ruler of the Madras already within the jaws of death. Then the mighty-armed Bhishma, roaring like the very clouds, and taking up a bow full six cubits long, rushed towards Sankha in battle. And beholding that mighty car-warrior and great bowman thus rushing, the Pandava host began to tremble like a boat tossed by a violence of the tempest. Then Arjuna, quickly advancing, placed himself in front of Sankha, thinking that Sankha should then be protected from Bhishma. And then the combat commenced between Bhishma and Arjuna. And loud cries of oh and alas arose among the warriors engaged in battle. And one force seemed to merge into another force. And thus all were filled with wonder.[351] Then Salya, mace in hand, alighting from his large car, slew, O bull of Bharata’s race, the four steeds of Sankha. Jumping down from his car thus deprived of steeds, and taking a sword, Sankha ran towards Vibhatsu’s car and (mounting on it) was once more at his ease.

With arrows and darts and swords and long shafts, as also with spears and mallets and battle-axes and short arrows, they began to smite down that elephant host. And they slew huge elephants with mountain-summits and large trees. While the Rakshasas slew those elephants, O king, we saw that some of them had their frontal globes smashed, some were bathed in blood, and some had their limbs broken or cut through. At last when that elephant host was broken and thinned, Duryodhana, O king, rushed upon the Rakshasas, under the influence of rage and becoming reckless of his very life. And that mighty warrior sped clouds of sharp shafts at the Rakshasas. And that great bowman slew many of their foremost warriors. Inflamed with rage, O chief of the Bharatas, that mighty car-warrior, viz., thy son Duryodhana, then slew with four shafts four of the principal Rakshasas, viz., Vegavat, Maharudra, Vidyujihva, and Pramathin. And once again, O chief of the Bharatas, that warrior of immeasurable soul, sped at the Rakshasa host showers of arrows that could with difficulty be resisted. Beholding that great feat of thy son, O sire, the mighty son of Bhimasena blazed up with wrath. Drawing his large bow effulgent as the lightning, he rushed impetuously at the wrathful Duryodhana. Beholding him (thus) rushing like Death himself commissioned by the Destroyer, thy son Duryodhana, O king, shook not at all. With eyes red in anger, and excited with rage, Ghatotkacha, then, addressing thy son, said, ‘I shall today be freed from the debt I owe to my sires, as also to my mother, they that had so long been exiled by thy cruel self. The sons of Pandu, O king, were vanquished by thee in that match at dice. Drupada’s daughter Krishna also, while ill and, therefore, clad in a single raiment, was brought into the assembly and great trouble was given by thee in diverse ways, O thou most wicked, unto her. While dwelling also in her sylvan retreat, thy well-wisher, that wicked wight, viz.

And, once again, excited with wrath, they quickly poured upon Arjuna and Kesava countless arrows like the clouds pouring upon a lake their incessant showers. Then those thousands of arrows fell upon Arjuna, like swarms of bees upon a flowering cluster of trees in the forest. Then deeply pierced Arjuna’s diadem with thirty shafts, endued with the strength of adamant with those shafts equipped with wings of gold fixed on his diadem, Arjuna, as if decked with ornaments of gold, shone like the (newly) risen sun. The son of Pandu then, in that battle, with a broad-headed arrow, cut off the leathern fence of Suvahu, and covered Sudharman and Sudhanwan, and Suvahu pierced Partha with ten arrows. Partha, having the excellent ape-device on his banner, pierced all of them in return with many arrows, and also cut off, with some broad-headed shafts, their standards made of gold. And cutting off the bow of Sudhanwan, he slew with his arrows the latter’s steeds. And then he cut off from his trunk the latter’s head graced with turban. Upon the fall of that hero, his followers were terrified. And stricken with panic, they all fled away to where Duryodhana’s forces were. Then Vasava’s son, filled with wrath, smote that mighty host with incessant showers of arrows, like the sun destroying darkness by means of his incessant rays. Then when that host broke and melted away on all sides, and Arjuna was filled with wrath, the Trigartas were struck with fear. While being slaughtered by Partha with his straight shafts, they remained where they stood, deprived of their senses, like a terrified herd of deer. Then the king of the Trigartas, filled with rage, addressed those mighty car-warrior, saying, “Do not fly, ye heroes! It behoveth ye not to be frightened. Having, in the sight of all the troops, taken those terrible steps, repairing thither, what shall ye say unto the leaders of Duryodhana’s host? Do we not incur ridicule in the world by such a (cowardly) act in battle?

“Sanjaya said, ‘Thou askest me about the feats of Arjuna in battle. Listen, O thou of mighty arms, to what Partha achieved in the fight. Beholding the risen dust and hearing the wail of the troops when Bhagadatta was performing great feats on the field, the son of Kunti addressed Krishna and said “O slayer of Madhu, it seems that the ruler of the Pragjyotishas hath, on his elephant, with great impetuosity, advanced to battle. This loud din that we hear must be due to him. Well-versed in the art of grinding and battling from the back of an elephant, and not inferior to Indra himself in battle, he, I think, is the foremost of all elephant-warriors in the world.[54] His elephant, again, is the foremost of elephants, without a rival to encounter it in battle. Possessed of great dexterity and above all fatigue, it is, again, impervious to all weapons. Capable of bearing every weapon and even the touch of fire, it will, O sinless one, alone destroy the Pandava force today. Except us two, there is none else capable of checking that creature. Go quickly, therefore, to that spot where the ruler of the Pragjyotishas is. Proud in battle, in consequence of the strength of his elephant, and arrogant in consequence of his age, I will this very day send him as a guest to the slayer of Vala.” At these words of Arjuna, Krishna began to proceed to the place where Bhagadatta was breaking the Pandava ranks. While Arjuna was proceeding towards Bhagadatta, the mighty Samsaptaka car-warriors, numbering fourteen thousand, made up of ten thousand Gopalas or Narayanas who used to follow Vasudeva, returning to the field, summoned him to battle. Beholding the Pandava host broken by Bhagadatta, and summoned on the other hand by the Samsaptakas, Arjuna’s heart was divided in twain. And he began to think, “Which of these two acts will be better for me to do today, to return from this spot for battling with Samsaptakas or to repair to Yudhishthira?”

, Bhima recollecting all the woes suffered by him on the occasion of the match at dice, and during his exile in the woods and residence in Virata’s city, and bearing in mind the robbing of their kingdom swelling with prosperity and gems, by thy sons, and the numerous other wrongs inflicted on the Pandavas by thee and the Suta’s son and remembering also the fact that thou hadst conspired to burn innocent Kunti with her sons, and calling to his memory the sufferings of Krishna in the midst of the assembly at the hands of those wretches, as also the seizure of her tresses by Duhsasana, and the harsh speeches uttered, O Bharata, by Karna, to the effect, “Take thou another husband, for all thy husbands are dead: the sons of Pritha have sunk into hell and are like sesamum seeds without kernel,”--remembering also those other words, O son of Kuru, that the Kauravas uttered in thy presence, add the fact also that thy sons had been desirous of enjoying Krishna as a slave, and those harsh words that Karna spoke to the sons of Pandu when the latter, attired in deer-skins were about to be banished to the woods, and the joy in which thy wrathful and foolish son, himself in prosperity, indulged, thinking the distressed sons of Pritha as veritable straw, the virtuous Bhima that slayer of foes, remembering these and all the woes he had suffered since his childhood, became reckless of his very life. Stretching his invincible and formidable bow, the back of whose staff was decked with gold, Vrikodara, that tiger of Bharata’s race, utterly reckless of his life, rushed against Karna. Shooting dense showers of bright arrows whetted on stone, Bhima shrouded the very light of the sun. Adhiratha’s son, however, smiling the while, quickly baffled, by means of his own winged arrows whetted on stone, that arrowy downpour of Bhimasena. Endued with great strength and mighty arms, that mighty car-warrior, the son of Adhiratha, then pierced Bhima with nine keen arrows.

"Sanjaya said, 'Having learnt Karna's wishes, thy sons, O bull of Bharata's race, ordered the troops to be arrayed with joyful music. While it still wanted a long period for the coming of the dawn, a loud noise of "Array, Array!" O king, suddenly arose among thy troops. And the uproar that arose, became tremendous and touched the very heavens, of foremost of elephants and fenced cars while under process of equipment, of foot-soldiers and steeds, O monarch, while putting on their armour or in course of being harnessed, and of combatants moving with activity and shouting unto one another! Then the Suta's son bearing a gold-backed bow appeared (on the field) in his car possessed of the splendour of the radiant Sun, crowned with many banners, equipped with a white standard, with steeds of the hue of cranes, bearing the device of the elephants' rope, filled with a hundred quivers, furnished with mace and wooden fence, freighted with shataghnis and rows of bells and darts and lances and spears, and supplied with many bows. And the Suta's son appeared on the field, blowing his conch, O king; decorated with a net-work of gold, and shaking his formidable bow adorned with pure gold. Beholding the mighty bowman Karna, that foremost of car-warriors, seated on his car, difficult of approach and resembling the risen Sun that destroys the gloom, none amongst the Kauravas, O tiger among men, recked, O sire, the loss of Bhishma or Drona or other men! Speeding the warriors, O sire, with the blasts of his conch, Karna caused the vast army of the Kauravas to be drawn out. Having arrayed the troops in the makara array, that mighty bowman, that scorcher of foes, viz., Karna, proceeded against the Pandavas from desire of victory. In the tip of the beak of that makara, O king, was stationed Karna himself. In the two eyes were the brave Shakuni and the mighty car-warrior Uluka. In the head was Drona's son and in the neck were all the uterine brothers.

All creatures became frightened, and the three worlds began to tremble. Frightful portents appeared when he was on the point of aiming that shaft. In consequence, however, of the pressure caused by the weight of Soma, Agni, and Vishnu that were in that shaft, as also of the pressure caused by the weight of Brahman and Rudra and the latter's bow, that car seemed to sink. Then Narayana, issuing out of the point of that shaft, assumed the form of a bull and raised that large car. During the time the car had sunk and the foe had began to roar, the illustrious Deity, endued with great might began, from rage, to utter loud shouts, standing, O giver of honours, on the head of his bull and the back of his steeds. At that time the illustrious Rudra was employed in eyeing the Danava city. While in that posture, O best of men, Rudra cut off the teats of the horses and clove the hoofs of the bull. Blessed be thou, from the date the hoofs of all animals of the bovine species came to be cloven. And from that time, O king, horses, afflicted by the mighty Rudra of wonderful deeds, came to be without teats. Then Sarva, having stringed his bow and aimed that shaft with which he had united the Pasupata weapon, waited thinking of the triple city. And O king, as Rudra thus stood, holding his bow, the three cities during that time became united. When the three cities, losing their separate characters became united, tumultuous became the joy of the high-souled gods. Then all the gods, the Siddhas, and the great Rishis, uttered the word Jaya, adoring Maheshwara. The triple city then appeared immediately before that god of unbearable energy, that Deity of fierce and indescribable form, that warrior who was desirous of slaying the Asuras. The illustrious deity, that Lord of the universe, then drawing that celestial bow, sped that shaft which represented the might of the whole universe, at the triple city.

"Sanjaya continued, 'At the conclusion of these words of Karna, Shalya, the ruler of the Madras, desirous of provoking Karna exceedingly, said these words in reply, "When keen-pointed shafts winged with Kanka feathers, shot by Phalguna of mighty arms and impelled from his bow-string and sped with all his energy will seek thee then wilt thou lament thy encounter with that hero. When Partha, called also Savyasaci, taking up his celestial bow, will scorch the (Kuru) army and afflict thee exceedingly with keen shafts, then, O Suta's son, wilt thou repent (of thy folly). As a child lying on the lap of its mother seeks to seize the Moon, even so dost thou from folly seek to vanquish the resplendent Arjuna stationed on his car. In desiring, O Karna, to fight today with Arjuna of keen-edged feats, thou art for rubbing all thy limbs against the keen edges of a trident. This thy challenge of Arjuna, O Suta's son, is like that of a foolish young little deer of activity challenging a huge lion excited with wrath. Do not, O Suta's son, challenge that prince of mighty energy like a fox gratified with meat in the forest challenging the maned monarch of the forest. Do not be destroyed, encountering Arjuna. Thou, O Karna, challengest Dhananjaya, the son of Pritha, even like a hare challenging a mighty elephant with tusks large as plough-shafts, and with the juice issuing out of its mouth and rent cheeks. From folly thou art piercing, with a piece of wood, the black cobra of virulent poison excited to fury within its hole, in desiring to fight with Partha. Endued with little understanding, thou, O Karna, disregarding that lion among men, viz., the son of Pandu, yellest at him, like a jackal that, disregarding a maned lion excited with wrath, yells at him. As a snake, for its own destruction, challenges that foremost of birds, viz., Vinata's son, possessed of beautiful plumage and great activity, even so dost thou, O Karna, challenge Dhananjaya the son of Pandu.

And Bhimasena pierced him with four and sixty arrows, and Sahadeva with seven. And Nakula pierced him with thirty arrows, and Satanika with seven. And the heroic Shikhandi pierced him with ten and king Yudhishthira with a hundred. These and other foremost of men, O monarch, all inspired with desire of victory, began to grind that great bowman, viz., the Suta's son, in that dreadful battle. That chastiser of foes, viz., the Suta's son of great heroism, performing quick evolutions with his car, pierced every one of those warriors with ten arrows. We then, O king, witnessed the lightness of hand displayed by the high-souled Karna and the power of his weapons. Indeed, what we saw appeared to be highly wonderful. People could not notice when he took up his arrows, when he aimed them, and when he let them off. They only beheld his enemies dying fast in consequence of his wrath. The sky, the firmament, the Earth, and all the quarters seemed to be entirely shrouded with sharp arrows. The firmament looked resplendent as if covered with red clouds. The valiant son of Radha, armed with the bow, and as if dancing (on his car), pierced each of his assailants with thrice as many arrows as each of them had pierced him with. And once more piercing each of them, and his steeds, driver, car, and standard with ten arrows, he uttered a loud roar. His assailants then gave him a way (through which he passed out). Having crushed those mighty bowmen with showers of arrows, the son of Radha, that crusher of foes, then penetrated, unresisted, into the midst of the division commanded by the Pandava king. Having destroyed thirty cars of the unreturning Cedis, the son of Radha struck Yudhishthira with many sharp arrows. Then many Pandava warriors, O king, with Shikhandi and Satyaki, desirous of rescuing the king from the son of Radha, surrounded the former. Similarly all the brave and mighty bowmen of thy army resolutely protected the irresistible Karna in that battle.

With another broad-headed arrow of great sharpness, he also cut off Bhima's bow. Then the mighty-armed Bhima of great strength, taking up a terrible parigha, twined round with hempen cords and decked with gold and resembling a second bludgeon of Death himself, and desiring to slay Karna outright, hurled it at him with a loud roar. Karna, however, with a number of arrows resembling snakes of virulent poison, cut off into many fragments that spiked mace as it coursed towards him with the tremendous peal of thunder. Then Bhima, that grinder of hostile troops, grasping his bow with greater strength, covered Karna with keen shafts. The battle that took place between Karna and the son of Pandu in that meeting became awful for a moment, like that of a couple of huge lions desirous of slaying each other. Then Karna, O king, drawing the bow with great force and stretching the string to his very ear, pierced Bhimasena with three arrows. Deeply pierced by Karna, that great bowman and foremost of all persons endued with might then took up a terrible shaft capable of piercing through the body of his antagonist. That shaft, cutting through Karna's armour and piercing through his body, passed out and entered the Earth like a snake into ant-hill. In consequence of the violence of that stroke, Karna felt great pain and became exceedingly agitated. Indeed, he trembled on his car like a mountain during an earthquake. Then Karna, O king, filled with rage and the desire to retaliate, struck Bhima with five and twenty shafts, and then with many more. With one arrow he then cut off Bhimasena's standard, and with another broad-headed arrow he despatched Bhima's driver to the presence of Yama. Next quickly cutting off the bow of Pandu's son with another winged arrow, Karna deprived Bhima of terrible feats of his car. Deprived of his car, O chief of Bharata's race, the mighty-armed Bhima, who resembled the Wind-god (in prowess) took up a mace and jumped down from his excellent vehicle.

but thy army, slaughtered by many high-souled warriors, did not stay on the field. Loud shouts were uttered then, O monarch, by the Pandavas, inspired with this desire of victory, on beholding the Dhartarashtra host flying away on all sides. Then Duryodhana addressing Karna from affection, "Behold, O Karna, how our army, exceedingly afflicted by the Pandavas, though thou art here, is flying away from battle! Knowing this, O thou of mighty arms, do that which is suited to the hour, O chastiser of foes! Thousands of (our) warriors, routed by the Pandavas, are, O hero, calling after thee only, O best of men!" Hearing these grave words of Duryodhana, the son of Radha, as if smiling, said these words unto the ruler of the Madras, "Behold the prowess of my arms and the energy of my weapons, O ruler of men! Today I will slay all the Pancalas and the Pandavas in battle! Cause the steeds to proceed with my car, O tiger among men! Without doubt, everything will be as I have said!" Having said these words, the Suta's son of great valour, that hero, taking up his ancient and foremost of bows called Vijaya, stringed it and rubbed the string repeatedly. Bidding the troops stay on the field after having assured them upon his truth and by an oath, the mighty Karna of immeasurable soul fixed on his bow-string the weapon known by the name of Bhargava. From that weapon flowed, O king, millions and millions of keen arrows in that great battle. Entirely shrouded with those blazing and terrible arrows winged with feathers of Kankas and peacocks, the Pandava army could not see anything. Loud wails of woe arose from among the Pancalas, O king, afflicted, in that battle, with the mighty Bhargava weapon. In consequence then of elephants, O king, and steeds, by thousands, and cars, O monarch, and men, falling on all sides, deprived of life, the Earth began to tremble. The vast force of the Pandavas became agitated from one extremity to another.

Eight hundred elephants, I have seen, with their frontal globes split open and the ends of their tusks cut off, have today been slain by Bhima with shafts in battle. That slayer of foes is competent to tell me harsh words. The learned say that the strength of the foremost of Brahmanas lies in speech, and that the Kshatriya's strength is in his arms. Thou, O Bharata, art strong in words and very unfeeling. Thou thinkest me to be like thyself. I always strive to do thee good with my soul, life, sons and wives. Since, not withstanding all this, thou still piercest me with such wordy darts, it is evident that we cannot expect any happiness from thee. Lying on Draupadi's bed thou insultest me, though for thy sake I slay the mightiest of car-warriors. Thou art without any anxiety, O Bharata, and thou art cruel. I have never obtained any happiness from thee. It was for thy good, O chief of men, that Bhishma, firmly devoted to truth, himself told thee the means of his death in battle, and was slain by the heroic and high-souled Shikhandi, the son of Drupada, protected by me. I do not derive any pleasure from the thought of thy restoration to sovereignty, since thou art addicted to the evil practice of gambling. Having thyself committed a wicked act to which they only are addicted that are low, thou desirest now to vanquish thy foes through our aid. Thou hadst heard of the numerous faults and the great sinfulness of dice that Sahadeva spoke about. Yet dice, which are worshipped by the wicked, thou couldst not abandon. It was for this that all of us have fallen into hell. We have never derived any happiness from thee since thou wert engaged in gambling with dice. Having, O son of Pandu, thyself caused all this calamity, thou art, again, addressing these harsh words to me. Slain by us, hostile troops are lying on the field, with mangled bodies and uttering loud wails.

Indeed, urged by Bhima and Janardana, and recollecting (his woes), and taking an internal survey of himself, and calling to mind the object for which he had come to this world, he addressed Keshava, saying, "I will now invoke into existence a mighty and fierce weapon for the good of the world and the destruction of the Suta's son. Let me have thy permission, as also Brahman's and Bhava's, and of all those that are conversant with Brahma." Having said these words unto the holy Keshava, Savyasaci of immeasurable soul bowed unto Brahman and invoked into existence that excellent irresistible weapon called brahmastra which could be applied by the mind alone. Baffling that weapon, however, Karna looked beautiful as he continued, like a cloud pouring torrents of rain, to shoot his shafts. Beholding that weapon of the diadem-decked Arjuna baffled in the midst of battle by Karna, the wrathful and mighty Bhima, blazing up with rage, addressed Arjuna of sure aim and said, "People say that thou art a master of the high brahmastra, that mighty means (for achieving the destruction of foes). Do thou then, O Savyasaci, use another weapon of the same kind." Thus addressed by his brother, Savyasaci used a second weapon of the kind. With that, Partha of abundant energy shrouded all the points of the compass, cardinal and subsidiary, with arrows sped from Gandiva that resembled fierce snakes and were like the blazing rays of the sun. Created by that bull of Bharata's race, those arrows of golden wings, in hundreds upon hundreds, endued with the effulgence of the yuga fire or the sun, in a moment shrouded the car of Karna. Thence also issued long darts and battle-axes and discs and cloth-yard shafts in hundreds, all of awful forms, at which hostile warriors all around began to be deprived of life. The head of some hostile warrior, severed from his trunk, fell down on the field of battle. Another, beholding his fallen comrade, fell down dead on the earth, through fear.

"'Narada said, "It is even so, O mighty armed one, as thou sayest, O Bharata! Nothing could resist Karna and Arjuna in battle. This, O sinless one, that I am about to tell thee is unknown to the very gods. Listen to me, O mighty-armed one, as it befell in former days. How all the Kshatriyas, cleansed by weapons should attain to regions of bliss, was the question. For this, a child was conceived by Kunti in her maidenhood, capable of provoking a general war. Endued with great energy, that child came to have the status of a Suta. He subsequently acquired the science of weapons from the preceptor (Drona), that foremost descendant of Angirasa's race. Thinking of the might of Bhimasena, the quickness of Arjuna in the use of weapons, the intelligence of thyself, O king, the humility of the twins, the friendship, from earliest years, between Vasudeva and the wielder of Gandiva, and the affection of the people for you all, that young man burnt with envy. In early age he made friends with king Duryodhana, led by an accident and his own nature and the hate he bore towards you all. Beholding that Dhananjaya was superior to every one in the science of weapons, Karna one day approached Drona in private and said these words unto him, 'I desire to be acquainted with the Brahma weapon, with all its mantras and the power of withdrawing it, for I desire to fight Arjuna. Without doubt, the affection thou bearest to every one of thy pupils is equal to what thou bearest to thy own son. I pray that all the masters of the science of weapons may, through thy grace, regard me as one accomplished in weapons!' Thus addressed by him, Drona, from partiality for Phalguna, as also from his knowledge of the wickedness of Karna, said, 'None but a Brahmana, who has duly observed all vows, should be acquainted with the Brahma weapon, or a Kshatriya that has practised austere penances, and no other.

"Vaisampayana said, 'Then Devaki's son Janardana of universal knowledge addressed king Yudhishthira who stood there with his brothers, saying, "In this world, O sire, Brahmanas are always the objects of worship with me. They are gods on earth having poison in their speech, and are exceedingly easy to gratify. Formerly, in the Krita age, O king, a Rakshasa of the name of Charvaka, O mighty-armed one, performed austere penances for many years in Vadari. Brahman repeatedly solicited him to ask for boons. At last the Rakshasa solicited the boon, O Bharata, of immunity from fear at the hand of every being in the universe. The Lord of the universe gave that high boon of immunity from fear at the hands of all creatures, subject to the only limitation that he should be careful of how he offended the Brahmanas. Having obtained that boon, the sinful and mighty Rakshasa of fierce deeds and great prowess began to give pain to the gods. The gods, persecuted by the might of the Rakshasa, assembling together, approached Brahman, for compassing their foe's destruction. The eternal and unchangeable god answered them, O Bharata, saying, 'I have already arranged the means by which the death of this Rakshasa may soon be brought about. There will be a king of the name of Duryodhana. Among men, he will be the friend of this wight. Bound by affection towards him, the Rakshasa will insult the Brahmanas. Stung by the wrong he will inflict upon them, the Brahmanas, whose might consists in speech, will in wrath censure him at which he will meet with destruction.' Even that Rakshasa Charvaka, O foremost of kings, slain by the curse of the Brahmanas, lies there deprived of life. Do not, O bull of Bharata's race, give way to grief. The kinsmen, O king, have all perished in the observance of Kshatriya duties. Those bulls among Kshatriyas, those high-souled heroes, have all gone to heaven. Do thou attend to thy duties now. O thou of unfading glory, let no grief be thine.

"'Bhishma said, "It is proper that those weapons and vehicles should be adopted (by particular bodies of combatants) with which they have become familiar by use. Brave soldiers, adopting those weapons and vehicles, engage in battle. The Gandharas, the Sindhus, and the Sauviras fight best with their nails and lances. They are brave and endued with great strength. Their armies are capable of vanquishing all forces. The Usinaras are possessed of great strength and skilled in all kinds of weapons. The Easterners are skilled in fighting from the backs of elephants and are conversant with all the ways of unfair fight. The Yavanas, the Kamvojas, and those that dwell around Mathura are well skilled in fighting with bare arms. The Southerners are skilled in fighting sword in hand. It is well-known that persons possessed of great strength and great courage are born in almost every country. Listen to me as I describe their indications. They that have voices and eyes like those of the lion or the tiger, they that have a gait like that of the lion and the tiger, and they that have eyes like those of the pigeon or the snake, are all heroes capable of grinding hostile ranks.[303] They that have a voice like deer, and eyes like those of the leopard or the bull, are possessed of great activity. They whose voice resembles that of bulls, are excitable, wicked, and wrathful. They that have a voice deep as that of the clouds, that have wrathful face, or faces like those of camels, they that have hooked noses and tongues, are possessed of great speed and can shoot or hurl their weapons to a great distance. They that have bodies curved like that of the cat, and thin hair and thin skin, become endued with great speed and restlessness and almost invincible in battle. Some that are possessed of eyes closed like those of the iguana, disposition that is mild, and speed and voice like the horses, are competent to fight all foes.

He should proclaim the faults of his foes; crush those that are their partisans; and collect wealth from outside like a person plucking flowers from the woods. He should destroy those foremost of monarchs that swell with might and stand with uplifted heads like mountains, by seeking the shelter of unknown shades[357] and by ambuscades and sudden attacks. Like the peacock in the season of rains, he should enter his nightly quarters alone and unseen. Indeed, he should enjoy, after the manner of the peacock, within his inner apartments, the companionship of his wives. He should not put off his mail. He should himself protect his own self, and avoid the nets spread out for him by the spies and secret agents of his foes. He should also win over the affections of the spies of his enemies, but extirpate them when opportunity occurs. Like the peacocks the king should kill his powerful and angry foes of crooked policy, and destroy their force and drive them away from home. The king should also like the peacock do what is good to him, and glean wisdom from everywhere as they collect insects even from the forest. A wise and peacock-like king should thus rule his kingdom and adopt a policy which is beneficial to him. By exercising his own intelligence, he should settle what he is to do. By consulting with others he should either abandon or confirm such resolution. Aided by that intelligence which is sharpened by the scriptures, one can settle his courses of action. In this consists the usefulness of the scriptures. By practising the arts of conciliation, he should inspire confidence in the hearts of his enemies. He should display his own strength. By judging of different courses of action in his own mind he should, by exercising his own intelligence, arrive at conclusions. The king should be well-versed in the arts of conciliatory policy, he should be possessed of wisdom; and should be able to do what should be done and avoid what should not.

These press them like oil-seeds in the oil-making machine represented by the round of rebirths (to which they are subject). Man, for the sake of his wife (and others), commits numerous evil acts, but suffers singly diverse kinds of misery both in this and the next world. All men, attached to children and wives and kinsmen and relatives, sink in the miry sea of grief like wild elephants, when destitute of strength, sinking in a miry slough. Indeed, O lord, upon loss of wealth or son or kinsmen or relatives, man suffers great distress, which resembles as regards its power of burning, a forest conflagration. All this, viz., joy and grief, existence and non-existence, is dependent upon destiny. One having friends as one destitute of friends, one having foes as one destitute of foes, one having wisdom as one destitute of wisdom, each and every one amongst these, obtains happiness through destiny. Friends are not the cause of one's happiness. Foes are not the cause of one's misery. Wisdom is not competent to bring an accession of wealth; nor is wealth competent to bring an accession of happiness. Intelligence is not the cause of wealth, nor is stupidity the cause of penury. He only that is possessed of wisdom, and none else, understands the order of the world. Amongst the intelligent, the heroic, the foolish, the cowardly, the idiotic, the learned, the weak, or the strong, happiness comes to him for whom it is ordained. Among the calf, the cowherd that owns her, and the thief, the cow indeed belongs to him who drinks her milk.[503] They whose understanding is absolutely dormant, and they who have attained to that state of the mind which lies beyond the sphere of the intellect, succeed in enjoying happiness. Only they that are between the two classes, suffer misery.[504] They that are possessed of wisdom delight in the two extremes but not in the states that are intermediate. The sages have said that the attainment of any of these two extremes constitutes happiness.

As regards Vali, that foremost of Danavas, who is to be unslayable by all the deities, I shall cause him to dwell in the nether regions. In the Treta age I shall take birth as Rama in the race of Bhrigu, and exterminate the Kshatriyas who will become proud of their strength and possessions. Towards the close of Treta and the beginning of Dwapara, I shall take birth as Rama, the son of Dasaratha in Iskshaku's royal line. At that time, the two Rishis viz., the two sons of Prajapati, called by the names of Ekata and Dwita, will in consequence of the injury done by them unto their brother Trita, have to take birth as apes, losing the beauty of the human form. Those apes that shall take birth in the race of Ekata and Dwita, shall become endued with great strength and mighty energy and will equal Sakra himself in prowess. All those apes, O regenerate one, will become my allies for accomplishing the business of the deities. I shall then slay the terrible lord of the Rakshasas, that wretch of Pulastya's race, viz., the fierce Ravana, that throne of all the worlds, together with all his children and followers. Towards the close of the Dwapara and beginning of the Kali ages, I shall again appear in the world taking birth in the city of Mathura for the purpose of slaying Kansa. There, after slaying innumerable Danavas that will be thorns in the side of the deities, I shall take up my residence in Kusasthali at the city of Dwaraka. While residing in that city I shall slay the Asura Naraka, the son of the Earth,--him, that is, who will do an injury to Aditi, as also some other Danavas of the names of Muru and Pitha. Slaying also another foremost of Danavas, viz., the lord of Pragjyotisha, I shall transplant his delightful city furnished with diverse kinds of wealth into Dwaraka. I shall then subjugate the two gods worshipped of all the deities, viz.

' Thus solicited, the sage Dadhichi, who was a great Yogin and who regarded happiness and misery in the same light, without being at all cheerless, concentrated his Soul by his Yoga power and cast off his body. When his Soul left its temporary tenement of clay, Dhatri, taking his bones, created an irresistible weapon called the Thunder-bolt. With the Thunder-bolt thus made with the bones of a Brahmana, which was impenetrable by other weapons and irresistible and pervaded by the energy of Vishnu, Indra struck Viswarupa the son of Tashtri. Having slain the son of Tashtri thus, Indra severed his head from the body. From the lifeless body, however, of Viswarupa, when it was pressed, the energy that was still residing in it gave birth to a mighty Asura of the name of Vritra. Vritra became the foe of Indra, but Indra slew him also with the Thunder-bolt. In consequence of the sin of Brahmanicide, being thus doubled Indra became overcome with a great fear and as the consequence thereof he had to abandon the sovereignty of heaven. He entered a cool lotus stalk that grew in the Manas lake. In consequence of the Yoga attribute of Anima, he became very minute and entered the fibres of that lotus stalk.[1860] When the lord of the three worlds, the husband of Sachi, had thus disappeared from sight through fear of the sin of Brahmanicide, the universe became lordless. The attributes of Rajas and Tamas assailed the deities. The Mantras uttered by the great Rishis lost all efficacy. Rakshasas appeared everywhere. The Vedas were about to disappear. The inhabitants of all the worlds, being destitute of a king, lost their strength and began to fall an easy prey to Rakshasas and other evil Beings. Then the deities and the Rishis, uniting together, made Nahusha, the son of Ayusha, the king of the three worlds and duly crowned him as such. Nahusha had on his forehead full five-hundred luminaries of blazing effulgence, which had the virtue of despoiling every creature of energy.

The Saindhavas then, O king, shot hundreds and thousands of straight arrows at the wielder of Gandiva. Dhananjaya, with his own whetted shafts, cut off those arrows of sharp and terrible points, resembling snakes of virulent poison, before they could come up to him. Having cut off those sharp arrows equipt with Kanka feathers, Arjuna pierced each of the warriors opposed to him with a whetted shaft. The Saindhava Kshatriyas, recollecting that it was Dhananjaya who had slain their king Jayadratha, then hurled at him darts and javelins with great force. The diadem-decked Dhananjaya of great might baffled their intent by cutting off all those weapons before any of them could reach him. At length the son of Pandu became highly angry. With many straight and broad-headed arrows, he felled the heads of many of those warriors who were rushing at him from desire of victory. Many fled, many rushed at Arjuna; many moved not, all of them, however, uttered such a loud noise (of wrath and grief) that it resembled the roar of the ocean. As they were slain by Partha of immeasurable might, they fought him, each according to his strength and prowess. Their animals being all exhausted, Partha succeeded in depriving a large number of those warriors of their senses by means of his sharpest shafts in that battle. Then Dussala, their queen, the daughter of Dhritarashtra, knowing that they were rendered cheerless by Arjuna, took her grandson in her arms and repaired to Arjuna. The child was the son of Suratha (the son of Jayadratha). The brave prince proceeded to his maternal uncle on his car for the safety of all the Saindhava warriors. The queen, arrived at the presence of Dhananjaya, began to weep in sorrow. The puissant Dhananjaya, seeing her, cast off his bow. Abandoning his bow, Partha duly received his sister and enquired of her as to what he could do for her. The queen replied unto him, saying,--"O chief of the Bharatas, this child is the son of thy sister's son.

"Vaishampayana said: 'Meanwhile Daruka, going to the Kurus and seeing those mighty car-warriors, the son of Pritha, informed them of how the Vrishnis had slain one another with iron bolts. Hearing that the Vrishnis along with the Bhojas and Andhakas and Kukuras had all been slain, the Pandavas, burning with grief, became highly agitated. Then Arjuna, the dear friend of Keshava, bidding them farewell, set out for seeing his maternal uncle. He said that destruction would soon overtake everything. Proceeding to the city of the Vrishnis with Daruka in his company, O puissant king, that hero beheld that the city of Dwaraka looked like a woman bereft of her husband. Those ladies who had, before this, the very Lord of the universe for their protector, were now lordless. Seeing that Partha had come for protecting them, they all set up a loud wail. 16,000 ladies had been wedded to Vasudeva. Indeed, as soon as they saw Arjuna arrive, they uttered a loud cry of sorrow. As soon as the Kuru prince met those beauteous ones deprived of the protection of Krishna and of their sons as well, he was unable to look at them, his vision being obstructed by tears. The Dwaraka river had the Vrishnis and the Andhakas for its water, steeds for its fishes, cars for its rafts, the sound of musical instruments and the rattle of cars for its waves, houses and mansions and public squares for its lakes. Gems and precious stones were its abundant moss. The walls of adamant were the garlands of flowers that floated on it. The streets and roads were the strong currents running in eddies along its surface. The great open squares were the still large lakes in its course. Rama and Krishna were its two mighty alligators. That agreeable river now seemed to Arjuna to be the fierce Vaitarani bound up with Time's net. Indeed, the son of Vasava, endued with great intelligence, beheld the city to look even thus, reft as it was of the Vrishni heroes.

“Vaisampayana said,” As the mighty Bhima proceeded, the whole forest with its trees and their branches seemed to tremble, in consequence of their clash with his breast. The motion of his thighs raised a wind like unto that which blows during the months of Jyaishtha and Ashadha (May and June). And the mighty Bhima proceeded, making a path for himself, but treading down the trees and creepers before him. In fact, he broke (by the pressure of his body) the large trees and plants, with their flowers and fruits, standing on his way. Even so passeth through the woods breaking down mighty trees, the leader of a herd of elephants, of the age of sixty years, angry and endued with excess of energy, during the season of rut when the liquid juice trickle down the three parts of his body. Indeed, so great was the force with which Bhima endued with the speed of Garuda or of Marut (the god of wind), proceeded that the Pandavas seemed to faint in consequence. Frequently swimming across streams difficult of being crossed, the Pandavas disguised themselves on their way from fear of the sons of Dhritarashtra. And Bhima carried on his shoulder his illustrious mother of delicate sensibilities along the uneven banks of rivers. Towards the evening, O bull of Bharata’s race, Bhima (bearing his brothers and mother on his back) reached a terrible forest where fruits and roots and water were scarce and which resounded with the terrible cries of birds and beasts. The twilight deepened the cries of birds and beasts became fiercer, darkness shrouded everything from the view and untimely winds began to blow that broke and laid low many a tree large and small and many creepers with dry leaves and fruits. The Kaurava princes, afflicted with fatigue and thirst, and heavy with sleep, were unable to proceed further. They then all sat down in that forest without food and drink. Then Kunti, smitten with thirst, said unto her sons, ‘I am the mother of the five Pandavas and am now in their midst.

Vaisampayana continued, “Thus addressed, the powerful Bhimasena of mighty arms, affectionately, and with a cheerful heart, bowed unto his brother, Hanuman, the monkey-chief, and said in mild words, ‘None is more fortunate than I am; now have I seen my elder brother. It is a great favour shown unto me; and I have been well pleased with thee. Now I wish that thou mayst fulfil this desire of mine. I desire to behold. O hero, that incomparable form of thine, which thou at that time hadst had, in bounding over the main, that abode of sharks and crocodiles. Thereby I shall be satisfied, and also believe in thy words.’ Thus addressed, that mighty monkey said with a smile, ‘That form of mine neither thou, not any one else can behold. At that age, the state of things was different, and doth not exist at present. In the Krita age, the state of things was one; and in the Treta, another; and in the Dwapara, still another. Diminution is going on this age; and I have not that form now. The ground, rivers, plants, and rocks, and siddhas, gods, and celestial sages conform to Time, in harmony with the state of things in the different yugas. Therefore, do not desire to see my former shape, O perpetuator of the Kuru race. I am conforming to the tendency of the age. Verily, Time is irresistible’ Bhimasena said, ‘Tell me of the duration of the different yugas, and of the different manners and customs and of virtue, pleasure and profit, and of acts, and energy, and of life and death in the different yugas.’ Thereupon Hanuman said, ‘O child, that yuga is called Krita when the one eternal religion was extant. And in that best of yugas, every one had religious perfection, and, therefore, there was no need of religious acts. And then virtue knew no deterioration; nor did people decrease. It is for this that this age is called Krita (perfect). But in time the yuga had come to be considered as an inferior one.

“Hearing these words of her maid, the slender-waisted and beautiful Kaikeyi put on all her ornaments, and sought her husband in a secluded place. And with a joyous heart, and smiling pleasantly, she addressed these words to him with all the blandishments of love, ‘O king, thou art always true to thy promises. Thou didst promise before to grant me an object of my desire. Do thou fulfil that promise now and save thyself from the sin of unredeemed pledge!’ The king replied, saying, ‘I will grant thee a boon. Ask thou whatever thou wishest! What man undeserving of death shall be slain today and who that deserves death is to be set at liberty? Upon whom shall I bestow wealth to-day, or whose wealth shall be confiscated? Whatever wealth there is in this world, save what belongeth to Brahmanas, is mine! I am the king of kings in this world, and the protector of all the four classes! Tell me quickly, O blessed lady, what that object is upon which thou hast set thy heart!’ Hearing these words of the king, and tying him fast to his pledge, and conscious also of her power over him, she addressed him in these words, ‘I desire that Bharata be the recipient of that investiture which thou hast designed for Rama, and let Rama go into exile living in the forest of Dandaka for fourteen years as an ascetic with matted locks on head and robed in rags and deer-skins!’ Hearing these disagreeable words of cruel import, the king, O chief of the Bharata race, was sorely afflicted and became utterly speechless! But the mighty and virtuous Rama, learning that his father had been thus solicited, went into the forest so that the king’s truth might remain inviolate. And, blessed be thou, he was followed by the auspicious Lakshmana--that foremost of bowmen and his wife Sita, the princess of Videha and daughter of Janaka. And after Rama had gone into the forest, king Dasaratha took leave of his body, agreeably to the eternal law of time.

And affrighted at the havoc amongst their own ranks, the steeds fled in all directions, freed from their yokes by means of Partha’s arrows and dragging after them broken portions of cars and elephants, struck on their ears and ribs and tusks and nether lips and other delicate parts of the body, began to drop down on the battle-field. And the earth, bestrewn in a short time with the corpses of elephants belonging to the Kauravas, looked like the sky overcast with masses of black clouds. And as that fire of blazing flames at the end of the yuga consumeth all perishable things of the world, both mobile and immobile, so did Partha, O king, consumeth all foes in battle. And by the energy of his weapons and the twang of his bow, and the preter-natural yells of the creatures stationed on his flagstaff, and the terrible roar of the monkey, and by the blast of his conch, that mighty grinder of foes, Vibhatsu, struck terror into the hearts of all the troops of Duryodhana. And the strength of every hostile warrior seemed, as it were, to be levelled to the dust at the very sight of Arjuna. And unwilling to commit the daring act of sin of slaying them that were defenceless, Arjuna suddenly fell back and attacked the army from behind by means of clouds of keen-edged arrows proceeding towards their aims like hawks let off by fowlers. And he soon covered the entire welkin with clusters of blood-drinking arrows. And as the (infinite) rays of the powerful sun, entering a small vessel, are contracted within it for want of space, so the countless shafts of Arjuna could not find space for their expansion even within the vast welkin. Foes were able to behold Arjuna’s car, when near, only once, for immediately after, they were with their horses, sent to the other world. And as his arrows unobstructed by the bodies of foes always passed through them, so his car, unimpeded by hostile ranks, always passed through the latter.

“The holy one said, ‘I have heard Sanjaya’s words and now I have heard thine. I know all about his purposes as also of thyself. Thy heart inclineth to righteousness, whereas their inclination is towards enmity. That which is obtained without war is of great value to thee. A long-life Brahmacharya is not, O lord of earth, the duty of a Kshatriya. Indeed, men of all the four orders have said that a Kshatriya should never subsist on alms; victory or death in battle, hath been eternally ordained by the Creator; even that is the duty of a Kshatriya. Cowardice is not applauded (in a Kshatriya). Subsistence, O Yudhishthira, is not possible by Cowardice, O thou of mighty arms. Display thy prowess, and vanquish, O chastiser of foes, thy enemies. The covetous son of Dhritarashtra, O chastiser of foes, living for a long time (with many kings) has by affection and friendship become very powerful. Therefore, O king, there is no hope of making his peace with thee. They regard themselves strong, having Bhishma and Drona and Kripa and others with them. As long, O king, as thou, O grinder of foes, wilt behave with them mildly, they will withhold thy kingdom. Neither from compassion, nor from mildness, nor from a sense of righteousness, will the sons of Dhritarashtra, O chastiser of foes, fulfil thy wishes. This, O son of Pandu, is another proof that they will not make peace with thee. Having pained thee so deeply by making thee put on a Kaupina, they were not stung with remorse. In the very sight of the Grandsire (Bhishma) and Drona and the wise Vidura, of many holy Brahmanas, the king, the citizens, and all the chief Kauravas, the cruel Duryodhana, deceitfully defeating thee at dice,--thee that are charitable, gentle, self-restrained, virtuous, and of rigid vows was not, O king, ashamed of his vile act. Do not, O monarch, show any compassion for that wretch of such disposition. They deserve death at the hands of all, how much more then of thee, O Bharata?

“The Holy One said, ‘Listen, O son of Pritha, how, without doubt, thou mayst know me fully, fixing thy mind on me, practising devotion, and taking refuge in me. I will now, without leaving anything out speak to thee about knowledge and experience, knowing which there would be left nothing in this world (for thee) to know. One among thousands of men striveth for perfection. Of those even that are assiduous and have attained to perfection, only some one knoweth me truly.[203] Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, also understanding, and consciousness,--thus hath my nature been divided eight-fold. This is a lower (form of my) nature. Different from this, know there is a higher (form of my) nature which is animate, O thou of mighty arms, and by which this universe is held.[204] Know that all creatures have these for their source. I am the source of evolution and also of the dissolution of the entire universe. There is nothing else, O Dhananjaya, that is higher than myself. Upon me is all this like a row of pearls on a string. Taste I am in the waters, O son of Kunti, (and) I am the splendour of both the moon and the sun, I am the Om in all the Vedas, the sound in space, and the manliness in men. I am the fragrant odour in earth, the splendour in fire, the life in all (living) creatures, and penance in ascetics. Know me, O son of Pritha, to be the eternal seed of all beings. I am the intelligence of all creatures endued with intelligence, the glory of all glorious objects. I am also the strength of all that are endued with strength, (myself) freed from desire and thirst, and, O bull of Bharata’s race, am the desire, consistent with duty, in all creatures.[205] And all existences which are of the quality of goodness, and which are of the quality of passion and quality of darkness, know that they are, indeed, from me. I am, however, not in them, but they are in me.

And upon Subhadra’s son and Bhimasena, and that mighty car-warrior Satyaki, and upon the ruler of the Kekayas, and Virata, and Dhrishtadyumna of Prishata’s race, and upon the Chedi troops, the old Kuru grandsire poured showers of arrows.”[338]

Dhritarashtra said, “Hearing of those feats of the sons of Pandu which are incapable of being achieved by the gods themselves, my heart, O Sanjaya, is filled with fear and wonder. Hearing also of the humiliation of my sons in every way, great hath been my anxiety as to the consequence that will ensue. The words uttered by Vidura will, no doubt, consume my heart. Everything that hath happened seemeth to be due to Destiny, O Sanjaya. The combatants of the Pandava army are encountering and smiting those best of warriors having Bhishma for their head, those heroes conversant with every weapon. What ascetic penances have been performed by the high-souled and mighty sons of Pandu, what boon hath they obtained, O son, or what science is known to them, in consequence of which, like the stars in the firmament, they are undergoing no diminution? I cannot bear it that my army should be repeatedly slaughtered by the Pandavas. The divine chastisement, highly severe, hath fallen on me alone. Tell me everything truly, O Sanjaya, about that for which the sons of Pandu have become unslayable and mine slayable. I do not see the other shore of this (sea of) distress.[383] I am like a man desirous of crossing the vastly deep ocean with my two arms alone. I certainly think that a great calamity hath overtaken my sons. Without doubt, Bhima will slay all my sons. I do not see that hero who is able to protect my sons in battle. The death of my sons in this battle, O Sanjaya, is certain. It behoveth thee, therefore, O Suta, to tell me, who asketh thee, everything about the true cause of all these. Beholding his own troops retreating from battle, what did Duryodhana do? And what old Bhishma and Drona, and Kripa, and Suvala’s son, and Jayadratha, and that mighty bowman, viz., Drona’s son and Vikarna of great strength do? When also, O thou of great wisdom, my sons turned back from the fight, what O Sanjaya, became the resolve of those high-souled warriors?”

“Sanjaya said, ‘After his son (Bhurisravas) had been slain by Satyaki while the former was sitting in Praya, Somadatta, filled with rage, said unto Satyaki these words, “Why, O Satwata, having abandoned those Kshatriya duties ordained by the high-souled gods, hast thou betaken thyself to the practices of robbers? Why would one that is observant of Kshatriya duties and possessed of wisdom, strike in battle a person that is turning away from the fight, or one that has become helpless, or one that has laid aside his weapons, or one that beggeth for quarters? Two persons, indeed, among the Vrishnis are reputed to be the foremost of great car-warriors, viz., Pradyumna of mighty energy and thou also, O Satyaki! Why then didst thou behave so cruelly and sinfully towards one that had sat in Praya and that had his arms cut off by Partha?[196] Take now in battle the consequence of that act of thine, O thou of wicked behaviour! I shall today, O wretch, putting forth my prowess, cut off thy head with a winged arrow. I swear, O Satwata, by my two sons, by what is dear to me, and by all my meritorious acts, that, if before this night passes away, I do not slay thee, that art so proud of thy heroism, with thy sons and younger brothers, provided Jishnu, the son of Pritha, does not protect thee, then let me sink into terrible hell, O wretch of Vrishni’s race!” Having said these words, the mighty Somadatta, filled with rage, blew his conch loudly and uttered a leonine roar. Then Satyaki, of eyes like lotus-petals and teeth like those of a lion, possessed of great strength, and filled with rage, said these words unto Somadatta, “O thou of Kuru’s race, whether battling with thee or with others, I do not in my heart ever experience the slightest fear. If, protected by all the troops, thou fightest with me, I would not, even then experience on thy account, any pain, O thou of Kuru’s race! I am ever observant of Kshatriya practices.

Then Karna, believing that mighty car-warrior, viz., Vrishasena, slain, became scorched with grief on account of the death of his son and began to afflict Satyaki with great force. Thus afflicted by Karna, the mighty car-warrior Yuyudhana, with great speed, repeatedly pierced Karna with many shafts. Once more piercing Karna with ten arrows, and Vrishasena with five, the Satwata hero cut off the leathern fences and the bows of both sire and son. Then those two warriors, stringing two other bows, capable of inspiring enemies with terror, began to pierce Yuyudhana from every side with keen shafts. During the progress of that fierce conflict that was so destructive of heroes the loud twang of Gandiva, O king, was heard over every other sound. Hearing then the rattle of Arjuna’s car as also that twang of Gandiva, the Suta’s son, O king, said these words unto Duryodhana, “Slaughtering our entire army and the foremost of heroic warriors and many mighty bowmen among the Kauravas, Arjuna is loudly twanging his bow. The rattle also of his car is heard, resembling the roar of the thunder. It’s evident, the son of Pandu is achieving feats worthy of his own self. This son of Pritha, O monarch, will grind our large host. Many of our troops are already breaking. No one stays in battle. Indeed, our army is being dispersed like a risen mass of clouds dispersed by the wind. Encountering Arjuna, our host breaks like a boat on the ocean. The loud wails, O king, of the foremost of warriors, O monarch, flying away from the field, or falling down in consequence of the arrows sped from Gandiva, are being heard. Hear, O tiger among car-warriors, the sound of drums and cymbals near Arjuna’s car at dead of night, resembling the deep roll of thunder in the welkin. Hear also the loud wails (of afflicted combatants) and the tremendous leonine shouts, and diverse other noises in the vicinity of Arjuna’s car. Here, however, this Satyaki, this foremost one of the Satwata race, stayeth amid us.

Then Kripa, and the chief of the Bhojas, and thy son himself shooting showers of shafts, rushed towards him. Drona's son also, that mighty car-warrior, rushed towards him, shooting his shafts. Indeed, all of them rained their arrows on him, like the clouds pouring torrents of rain on a mountain. The son of Pandu, however, with great activity and speed, cut off with his own shafts those excellent arrows sped at him with great care in that dreadful battle by those accomplished warriors desirous of slaying him, and pierced the chest of each of his adversaries with three shafts. Having arrows for his fierce rays, the Arjuna sun, with Gandiva drawn to its fullest stretch constituting his corona, looked resplendent, as he scorched his foes, like the Sun himself between the months of Jyeshtha and Ashadha, within his bright corona. Then Drona's son pierced Dhananjaya with ten foremost of shafts, and Keshava with three, and the four steeds of Dhananjaya with four, and showered many shafts on the Ape on Arjuna's banner. For all that, Dhananjaya cut off the full drawn bow in his adversary's hand with three shafts, the head of his driver with a razor-faced arrow, and his four steeds with his four other shafts and his standard with three other arrows and felled him from his car. The son of Drona then, filled with wrath, took up another costly bow, bright as the body of Takshaka, and decked with gems and diamonds and gold, and resembling a mighty snake caught from the foot of a mountain. Stringing that bow as he stood on the earth, and bringing out one after another shafts and weapons, Drona's son, that warrior who excelled in many accomplishments, began to afflict those two unvanquished and foremost of men and pierce them from a near point with many shafts. Then those mighty car-warriors, Kripa and Bhoja and thy son, standing at the van of battle, fell upon and shrouded that bull among the Pandavas, shooting showers of shafts, like clouds shrouding the dispeller of darkness.

Whither then had this virtue of thine gone? When many mighty car-warriors, encompassing the boy Abhimanyu in battle, slew him, whither had this virtue of thine then gone? If this virtue that thou now invokest was nowhere on those occasions, what is the use then of parching thy palate now, by uttering that word? Thou art now for the practice of virtue, O Suta, but thou shalt not escape with life. Like Nala who was defeated by Pushkara with the aid of dice but who regained his kingdom by prowess, the Pandavas, who are free from cupidity, will recover their kingdom by the prowess of their arms, aided with all their friends. Having slain in battle their powerful foes, they, with the Somakas, will recover their kingdom. The Dhartarashtras will meet with destruction at the hands of those lions among men (viz., the sons of Pandu), that are always protected by virtue!"'"

"Sanjaya said, 'Beholding thy son struck at the thighs, the mighty Rama, that foremost of smiters, became exceedingly angry. Raising his arms aloft the hero having the plough for his weapon, in a voice of deep sorrow, said in the midst of those kings, "Oh, fie on Bhima, fie on Bhima! Oh, fie, that in such a fair fight a blow hath been struck below the navel! Never before hath such an act as Vrikodara hath done been witnessed in an encounter with the mace! No limb below the navel should be struck. This is the precept laid down in treatises! This Bhima, however, is an ignorant wretch, unacquainted with the truths of treatises! He, therefore, acteth as he likes!" While uttering these words, Rama gave way to great wrath. The mighty Baladeva then, uplifting his plough, rushed towards Bhimasena! The form of that high-souled warrior of uplifted arms then became like that of the gigantic mountains of Kailasa variegated with diverse kinds of metals. The mighty Keshava, however, ever bending with humanity, seized the rushing Rama encircling him with his massive and well-rounded arms. Those two foremost heroes of Yadu's race, the one dark in complexion and the other fair, looked exceedingly beautiful at that moment, like the Sun and the Moon, O king, on the evening sky! For pacifying the angry Rama, Keshava addressed him, saying, "There are six kinds of advancement that a person may have: one's own advancement, the advancement of one's friends, the advancement of one's friends, the decay of one's enemy, the decay of one's enemy's friends, and the decay of one's enemy's friends' friends. When reverses happen to one's own self or to one's friends, one should then understand that one's fall is at hand and, therefore, one should at such times look for the means of applying a remedy. The Pandavas of unsullied prowess are our natural friends. They are the children of our own sire's sister! They had been greatly afflicted by their foes! The accomplishment of one's vow is one's duty.

He who was formerly encircled by kings vying with one another to give him pleasure, alas, he, slain and lying on the ground, is now encircled by vultures! He who was formerly fanned with beautiful fans by fair ladies is now fanned by (carnivorous) birds with flaps of their wings! Possessed of great strength and true prowess, this mighty-armed prince, slain by Bhimasena in battle, sleeps like an elephant slain by a lion! Behold Duryodhana, O Krishna, lying on the bare ground, covered with blood, slain by Bhimasena with his mace. That mighty-armed one who had in battle assembled together eleven Akshauhinis of troops, O Keshava, hath, in consequence of his own evil policy, been now slain. Alas, there that great bowman and mighty car-warrior sleeps, slain by Bhimasena, like a tiger slain by a lion! Having disregarded Vidura, as also his own sire, this reckless, foolish, and wicked prince hath succumbed to death, in consequence of his disregard of the old. He who had ruled the earth, without a rival, for thirteen years, alas, that prince, that son of mine, sleepeth to-day on the bare ground, slain by his foes. Not long before, O Krishna, I beheld the Earth, full of elephants and kine and horses, ruled by Duryodhana! Today, O thou of mighty arms, I see her ruled by another, and destitute of elephants and kine and horses! What need have I, O Madhava, of life? Behold, again, this sight that is more painful than the death of my son, the sight of these fair ladies weeping by the side of the slain heroes! Behold, O Krishna, the mother of Lakshmana, that lady of large hips, with her tresses dishevelled, that dear spouse of Duryodhana, resembling a sacrificial altar of gold. Without doubt, this damsel of great intelligence, while her mighty-armed lord was formerly alive, used to sport within the embrace of her lords handsome arms! Why, indeed, does not this heart of mine break into a hundred fragments at the sight of my son and grandson slain in battle?

By endeavouring to display thy superiority, the indication of a wicked woman is seen in thee. Desirous of asserting thy victory as thou art, it is not myself alone whom thou wishest to defeat, for it is plain that thou wishest to obtain a victory over even the whole of my court (consisting of these learned and very superior Brahmanas), by casting thy eyes in this way towards all these meritorious Brahmanas, it is evident that thou desirest to humiliate them all and glorify thyself (at their expense). Stupefied by thy pride of Yoga-puissance that has been born of thy jealousy (at sight of my power,) thou hast caused a union of thy understanding with mine and thereby hast really mingled together nectar with poison. That union, again, of man and woman, when each covets the other, is sweet as nectar. That association, however, of man and woman when the latter, herself coveting, fails to obtain an individual of the opposite sex that does not covet her, is, instead of being a merit, only a fault that is as noxious as poison. Do not continue to touch me. Know that I am righteous. Do thou act according to thy own scriptures. The enquiry thou hadst wished to make, viz., whether I am or I am not emancipated, has been finished. It behoves thee not to conceal from me all thy secret motives. It behoves thee not, that thus disguisest thyself, to conceal from me what thy object is, that is whether this call of thine has been prompted by the desire of accomplishing some object of thy own or whether thou hast come for accomplishing the object of some other king (that is hostile to me). One should never appear deceitfully before a king; nor before a Brahmana; nor before one's wife when that wife is possessed of every wifely virtue. Those who appear in deceitful guise before these three very soon meet with destruction. The power of kings consists in their sovereignty. The power of Brahmanas conversant with the Vedas is in the Vedas.

With the greatest ease, O Govinda, Mahadeva, using that single arrow, achieved that feat. That weapon, shot by Mahadeva's arms, can, without doubt consume in half the time taken up by a twinkling of the eyes the entire universe with all its mobile and immobile creatures. In the universe there is no being including even Brahma and Vishnu and the deities, that are incapable of being slain by that weapon. O sire, I saw that excellent, wonderful and incomparable weapon in the hand of Mahadeva. There is another mysterious and very powerful weapon which is equal or perhaps superior to the Pasupata weapon. I beheld that also. It is celebrated in all the worlds as the Sum of the Sula-armed Mahadeva. Hurled by the illustrious deity, that weapon is competent to rive the entire Earth or dry up the waters of the ocean or annihilate the entire universe. In days of yore, Yuvanaswa's son, king Mandhatri, that conqueror of the three worlds, possessed of imperial sway and endued with abundant energy, was, with all his troops, destroyed by means of that weapon. Endued with great might and great energy and resembling Sakra himself in prowess, the king, O Govinda, was slain by the Rakshasa Lavana with the aid of this Sula which he had got from Siva. The Sula has a very keen point. Exceedingly terrible, it is capable of causing everybody's hair stand on its end. I saw it in the hand of Mahadeva, as if roaring with rage, having contracted its forehead into three wrinkles. It resembled, O Krishna, a smokeless fire or the sun that rises at the end of the Yuga. The handle of that Sula, was made of a mighty snake. It is really indescribable. It looked like the universal Destroyer himself armed with his noose. I saw this weapon, O Govinda, in the hand of Mahadeva. I beheld also another weapon, viz., that sharp-edged battle-axe which, in days of yore, was given unto Rama by the gratified Mahadeva for enabling him to exterminate the Kshatriyas.

Manu will have a son of the name of Anga. After Anga will come Antardhaman. From Antardhaman will spring Havirdhaman, that lord of all creatures, free from every stain. Havirdhaman will have an illustrious son of the name of Rachinavarhi. He will have ten sons having Prachetas for their first. Prachetas will have a son named Daksha who will be regarded as a Prajapati. Daksha will beget a daughter who will be named Dakshayani. From Dakshayani will spring Aditya, and from Aditya will spring Manu. From Manu will spring a daughter named Ila and a son to be named Sudyumna. Ila will have Vudha for her husband, and from Vudha will spring Pururavas. From Pururavas will spring Ayu. From Ayu will spring Nahusha, and Nahusha will beget a son named Yayati. From Yayati will spring a mighty son of the name of Yadu, Yadu will beget Kroshtri. Kroshtri will beget a mighty son to be named Vrijinivat. From Vrijinivat will spring Ushadgu the unvanquished. Ushadgu will beget a son of the name of Chitraratha. Chitraratha will have a younger son of the name of Sura. Indeed, in the race of these mighty men, of energy celebrated over all the world, possessed of excellent conduct and diverse accomplishments, devoted to the performance of sacrifices and pure in behaviour,--in the pure race honoured by the Brahmanas, Sura will take his birth. He will be a foremost Kshatriya, endued with great energy, and possessed of great fame. Sura, that giver of honours, will beget a son, the spreader of his race, of the name of Vasudeva, otherwise called Anakadundhuvi. Vasudeva will have a son of the name of Vasudeva. He will have four hands. He will be exceedingly liberal, and will honour the Brahmanas greatly. Identical with Brahma, he will like and love the Brahmanas, and the Brahmanas will like and love him, that scion of Yadu's race will liberate many kings immured in the prison of the ruler of the Magadhas, after vanquishing that ruler named Jarasandha in his capital buried among mountains.

"'Utanka said, "O king, I shall certainly act according to my promise. I shall truly come back and place myself under thy power. There is, however, a question, O scorcher of foes, which I wish to ask thee."

Then when all those Kshatriyas gave up the task, the heroic king of the Chedis--mighty as Yama (Pluto) himself--the illustrious and determined Sisupala, the son of Damaghosa, in endeavouring to string the bow, himself fell upon his knees on the ground. Then king Jarasandha endued with great strength and powers, approaching the bow stood there for some moment, fixed and motionless like a mountain. Tossed by the bow, he too fell upon his knees on the ground, and rising up, the monarch left the amphitheatre for (returning to) his kingdom. Then the great hero Salya, the king of Madra, endued with great strength, in endeavouring to string the bow fell upon his knees on the ground. At last when in that assemblage consisting of highly respectable people, all the monarchs had become subjects of derisive talk that foremost of heroes--Jishnu, the son of Kunti--desired to string the bow and placed the arrows on the bow-string.’”