Chapter 57

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘Whom hast thou, O Sanjaya, seen to have, fromaffection, arrived there, and who will, on behalf of the Pandavas, fightmy son’s forces?’

“Sanjaya said, ‘I have seen Krishna, the foremost of the Andhakas and theVrishnis, arrived there, and Chekitana, as also Satyaki, otherwise calledYuyudhana. And those two mighty car-warriors, proud of their strength andfamed over all the world, have joined the Pandavas, each with a separateAkshauhini of troops. And Drupada, the king of the Panchalas, surroundedby his ten heroic sons–Satyajit and others–headed by Dhrishtadyumna,and well-protected by Sikhandin, and having furnished his soldiers withevery necessary thing, hath come there with a full Akshauhini, desirousof honouring Yudhishthira. And that lord of earth, Virata, with his twosons Sankha and Uttara, as also with those heroes Suryadatta andothers–headed by Madiraksha and surrounded by one Akshauhini of troops,hath thus accompanied by brothers and sons, joined the son of Pritha. Andthe son of Jarasandha, the king of Magadha, and Dhrishtaketu, the king ofthe Chedis, have separately come there, each accompanied by an Akshauhiniof troops. And the five brothers of Kekaya, all having purple flags, havejoined the Pandavas, surrounded by an Akshauhini of troops. Thennumbering to this extent, have I seen assembled there, and these, onbehalf of the Pandavas, will encounter the Dhartarashtra host. That greatcar-warrior, Dhrishtadyumna, who is acquainted with human, celestial,Gandharva and Asura arrays of battle, leadeth that host. O king, Bhishma,the son of Santanu, has been assigned to Sikhandin as his share; andVirata with all his Matsya warriors will support Sikhandin. The mightyking of the Madras hath been assigned to the eldest son of Pandu as hisshare, though some are of opinion that those two are not well-matched.Duryodhana with his sons and his ninety-nine brothers, as also the rulersof the east and the south, have been assigned to Bhimasena as his share.Karna, the son of Vikartana, and Jayadratha the king of the Sindhus, havebeen assigned to Arjuna as his share. And those heroes also on the earthwho are incapable of being withstood and who are proud of their might,have been accepted by Arjuna as his share. And those mighty bowmen, thefive royal brothers of Kekaya, will put forth their strength in battle,accepting the Kekaya warriors (on Dhritarashtra’s side) as antagonists.And in their share are included the Malavas also, and the Salwakas, asalso, the two famous warriors of the Trigarta host who have sworn toconquer or die. And all the sons of Duryodhana and Dussasana, as alsoking Vrihadvala, have been assigned to Subhadra’s son as his share. Andthose great bowmen, the sons of Draupadi, having cars furnished withgold-embroidered banners, all headed by Dhrishtadyumna, will, O Bharata,advance against Drona. And Chekitana on his car desireth to encounterSomadatta in single combat with him, while Satyaki is anxious to battleagainst the Bhoja chief, Kritavarman. And the heroic son of Madri,Sahadeva, who setteth up terrible roars in battle, hath intended to takeas his share thy brother-in-law, the son of Suvala. And Nakula also, theson of Madravati, hath intended to take as his share the deceitful Ulukaand the tribes of the Saraswatas. As for all the other kings of theearth, O Monarch, who will go to battle, the sons of Pandu have, bynaming them, distributed them in their own respective shares. Thus haththe Pandava host been distributed into divisions. Do thou now, withoutdelay, with thy sons, act as thou thinkest best.’

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘Alas, all my foolish sons, addicted to deceitfuldice, are already dead when it is the mighty Bhima with whom they desireto encounter in the field of battle. All the kings of the earth too,consecrated by Death himself for sacrifice, will rush to the Gandiva,like so many moths into fire. Methinks my host is already put to flightby those illustrious warriors formerly injured by me. Who, indeed, shallfollow to battle my warriors, whose ranks will be broken by the sons ofPandu in the encounter? All of them are mighty car-warriors, possessed ofgreat bravery, of famous achievements, endued with great prowess, equalunto the fiery sun in energy, and all victorious in battle. Those thathave Yudhishthira for their leader, the slayer of Madhu for theirprotector, the heroic Savyasachin and Vrikodara for their warriors, andNakula, and Sahadeva, and Dhrishtadyumna, the son of Prishata, andSatyaki, and Drupada, and Dhrishtaketu with his son, and Uttamaujas, andthe unconquerable Yudhamanyu of the Panchalas, and Sikhandin, andKshatradeva, and Uttara, the son of Virata, and Kasayas, the Chedis, theMatsyas, the Srinjayas, Vabhru the son of Virata, the Panchalas, and thePrabhadrakas, for fighting for them, those, indeed, from whom Indrahimself cannot, if they are unwilling, snatch this earth,–those heroes,cool and steady, in fight, who can split the very mountains–alas, it iswith them that are endued with every virtue and possessed of superhumanprowess that this wicked son of mine, O Sanjaya, desireth to fight,disregarding me even though I am crying myself hoarse!’

“Duryodhana said, ‘Both the Pandavas and ourselves are of the same race;both they and we tread upon the same earth, why dost thou think thatvictory will declare itself for only the Pandavas? Bhishma, Drona, Kripa,the unconquerable Karna, Jayadratha, Somadatta, and Aswatthaman-allmighty bowmen and endued with great energy,–are incapable of beingvanquished by Indra himself united with the celestials. What sayst thouthen, O father of the Pandavas? Ali these noble and heroic kings of theearth, bearing weapons, O father, are quite capable, for my sake, ofwithstanding the Pandavas, while the latter are not capable of evengazing at my troops. I am powerful enough to encounter in battle thePandavas with their sons. O Bharata, all those rulers of the earth, whoare anxious for my welfare, will certainly seize all the Pandavas like aherd of young deer by means of net. I tell thee, in consequence of ourcrowds of cars and snares of arrows, the Panchalas and the Pandavas willall be routed.’

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘O Sanjaya, this my son speaketh like a mad man, forhe is incapable of vanquishing in battle Yudhishthira the just. ThisBhishma truly knoweth the might of the famous, powerful, virtuous, andhigh-souled Pandavas and their sons, for he doth not wish a battle withthose illustrious ones. But tell me again O Sanjaya, of their movements.Tell me, who are inciting those illustrious and mighty bowmen endued withgreat activity, like priests enkindling (Homa) fires with libations ofclarified butter?’

“Sanjaya said, ‘O Bharata, Dhrishtadyumna is always urging the Pandavasto war, saying, ‘Fight ye, best among the Bharatas. Do not entertain theleast fear. All those rulers of the earth, who, courted byDhritarashtra’s son, will become in that fierce encounter target ofshowers of weapons,–indeed, I alone will encounter all those angry kingsassembled together with their relatives, like a whale seizing littlefishes from the water. Bhishma and Drona and Kripa and Karna and Drona’sson and Salya and Suyodhana,–them all I withstand, like the bankresisting the swelling sea.’ Unto him saying thus, the virtuous kingYudhishthira said, ‘The Panchalas and the Pandavas wholly depend upon thyprowess and steadiness. Rescue us safely from the war. I know, Omighty-armed one, that thou art firm in the duties of the Kshatriyaorder. Thou art, indeed, quite competent to smite alone the Kauravas.When the latter, eager for fight, will stand before us, what thou, Orepressor of foes, wilt arrange, will certainly be for our good. Eventhis is the opinion of those acquainted with the scriptures, that thehero, who, displaying his prowess, relieth those that after the rout runaway from the battle-field, seeking for protection, is to be bought witha thousand. Thou, O bull among men, art brave, mighty, and powerful.Without doubt, thou art that deliverer of those that are over-poweredwith fear on the field of battle.’ And when the righteous Yudhishthirathe son of Kunti said this, Dhrishtadyumna fearlessly addressed me inthese words, ‘Go thou, O Suta, without delay, and say unto all those thathave come to fight for Duryodhana, say unto the Kurus of the Pratipadynasty with the Vahlikas, the son of Saradwata and Karna and Drona, andDrona’s son, and Jayadratha, and Dussasana, and Vikarna and kingDuryodhana, and Bhishma,–Do not suffer yourselves to be slain by Arjuna,who is protected by the celestials. Before that happens, let some goodman approach Yudhishthira and entreat that son of Pandu, that best ofmen, to accept the kingdom (surrendered by them) without delay. There isno warrior on the earth like unto Savyasachin, son of Pandu, of prowessincapable of being baffled. The celestial car of the holder of Gandiva isprotected by the very gods. He is incapable of being vanquished by humanbeings. Do not, therefore, bend your mind to war!'”