Chapter 49

“Sanjaya said, ‘That which hath been uttered by thee, O king, withrespect to Duryodhana is all true. Nothing that thou hast said, O lord ofthe earth, is untrue. The Pandavas of immeasurable energy have beenfilled with rage at the sight of Krishna their wedded wife of purefame–brought in the midst of the assembly. Hearing also those cruelwords of Dussasana and Karna, they have been so incensed, O king, thatthey will not, I ween, forgive (the Kurus) on my account. I have heard, Oking, how Arjuna hath gratified in battle by means of his bow the god ofgods–Sthanu of eleven forms. The illustrious lord of all thegods–Kapardin himself–desirous of testing Phalguna, fought with him,having assumed the guise of a Kirata. And there it was that the Lokapala,in order to give away their weapons unto that bull of the Kuru race,showed themselves unto him of undeteriorating prowess. What other man onearth, except Phalguna, would strive to have a sight of these gods intheir own forms? And, O king, who is there that will weaken in battleArjuna, who could not be weakened by Maheswara himself possessed of eightforms? Thy sons, having dragged Draupadi, and thereby incensed the sonsof Pandu, have brought this frightful and horrifying calamity uponthemselves. Beholding Duryodhana showing both his thighs unto Draupadi,Bhima said with quivering lips, ‘wretch! those thighs of thine will Ismash with my fierce descending mace, on the expiration of thirteenyears.’ All the sons of Pandu are the foremost of smiters; all of themare of immeasurable energy; all of them are well-versed in every kind ofweapons. For these, they are incapable of being vanquished even by thegods. Incensed at the insult offered to their wedded wife, Pritha’s sons,urged by wrath, will, I ween, slay all thy sons in battle.’

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘O charioteer, what mischief hath been done by Karnauttering those cruel words, to the sons of Pandu! Was not the enmitysufficient that was provoked by bringing Krishna into the assembly? Howcan my wicked sons live, whose eldest brother and preceptor walketh notin the path of righteousness? Seeing me void of eye-sight, and incapableof exerting myself actively, my wretched son, O charioteer, believeth meto be a fool, and listeneth not to my words. Those wretches also that arehis counsellors, viz., Karna and Suvala, and others, always pander to hisvices, as he is incapable of understanding things rightly. The shaftsthat Arjuna of immeasurable prowess may lightly shoot, are capable ofconsuming all my sons, leave alone those shafts that he will shoot,impelled by anger. The arrows urged by the might of Arjuna’s arms andshot from his large bow, and inspired with mantras capable of convertingthem into celestial weapons can chastise the celestials themselves. Hewho hath for his counsellor and protector and friend that smiter ofsinful men–the lord of the three worlds–Hari himself–encounterethnothing that he cannot conquer. This, O Sanjaya, is most marvellous inArjuna that, as we have heard, he hath been clasped by Mahadeva in hisarms. That also which Phalguna, assisted by Damodara did of old towardshelping Agni in the conflagration of Khandava, hath been witnessed by allthe world. When, therefore, Bhima and Partha and Vasudeva of the Satwatarace become enraged, surely my sons along with their friends and theSuvalas are all unequal to fight with them.'”