Chapter 49

“Vaisampayana said, ‘In the midst, O Bharata, of all those assembledkings, Bhishma, the son of Santanu, then said these words untoDuryodhana, ‘Once on a time, Vrihaspati and Sakra went to Brahma. TheMaruts also with Indra, the Vasus with Agni, the Adityas, the Sadhyas,the seven celestial Rishis, the Gandharvas, Viswavasu, and the beautifultribes of the Apsaras, all approached the ancient Grandsire. And havingbowed down unto the Lord of the universe, all those dwellers of heavensat around him. Just then, the two ancient deities, the Rishis Nara andNarayana, as if drawing unto themselves by their own energy the minds andenergies of all who were present there, left the place.’ Thereupon,Vrihaspati asked Brahma, saying,–Who are these two that leave the placewithout worshipping thee? Tell us, O Grandsire, who are they? Thus asked,Brahma said, ‘These two, endued with ascetic merit, blazing witheffulgence and beauty, illuminating both the earth and the heaven,possessed of great might, and pervading and surpassing all, are Nara andNarayana, dwelling now in the region of Brahman having arrived from theother world. Endued with great might and prowess, they shine inconsequence of their own asceticism. By their acts they always contributeto the joy of the world. Worshipped by the gods and the Gandharvas, theyexist only for the destruction of Asuras.’

“Bhishma continued, ‘Having heard these words, Sakra went to the spotwhere those two were practising ascetic austerities, accompanied by allthe celestials and having Vrihaspati at their head. At that time, thedwellers of heaven had been very much alarmed in consequence of a warraging between themselves and the Asuras. And Indra asked thatillustrious couple to grant him a boon. Thus solicited, O best of theBharata race, those two said,–Name thou the boon.–Upon this Sakra saidunto them,–Give us your aid.–They then said unto Sakra,–We will dowhat thou wishest. And then it was with their aid that Sakra subsequentlyvanquished the Daityas and the Danavas. The chastiser of foes, Nara, slewin battle hundreds and thousands of Indra’s foes among the Paulomas andthe Kalakhanjas. It was this Arjuna, who, riding on a whirling car,severed in battle, with a broad-headed arrow, the head of the AsuraJambha 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, havingvanquished in battle sixty thousands of Nivatakavachas. It was thisconqueror of hostile towns, this Arjuna of mighty arms, that gratifiedAgni, having vanquished the very gods with Indra at their head. AndNarayana also hath, in this world, destroyed in the same way numberlessother Daityas and Danavas. Even such are those two of mighty energy thatare now seen united with each other. It hath been heard by us that thetwo heroic and mighty car-warriors, Vasudeva and Arjuna, that are nowunited with each other, are those same ancient gods, the divine Nara andNarayana. Amongst all on earth they are incapable of being vanquished bythe Asuras and the gods headed by Indra himself. That Narayana isKrishna, and that Nara is Falguna. Indeed, they are one Soul born intwain. These two, by their acts, enjoy numerous eternal and inexhaustibleregions, and are repeatedly born in those worlds when destructive warsare necessary. For this reason their mission is to fight. Just this iswhat Narada, conversant with the Vedas, had said unto the Vrishnis. Whenthou, O Duryodhana, wilt see Kesava with conch-shell and discus, and macein hand, and that terrible wielder of the bow, Arjuna, armed withweapons, when thou wilt behold those eternal and illustrious ones, thetwo Krishnas seated on the same car, then wilt thou, O child, rememberthese my words. Why should not such danger threaten the Kurus when thyintellect, O child, hath fallen off from both profit and virtue? If thouheedest not my words, thou shalt then have to hear of the slaughter ofmany, for all the Kauravas accept thy opinion. Thou art alone in holdingas true the opinion, O bull of the Bharata race, only three persons,viz., Karna, a low-born Suta’s son cursed by Rama, Sakuni, the son ofSuvala, and thy mean and sinful brother Dussasana.’

‘Karna said. ‘It behoveth thee not, O blessed grandsire, to use suchwords towards me, for I have adopted the duties of the Kshatriya orderwithout falling off from those of my own. Besides, what wickedness isthere in me? I have no sin known to any one of Dhritarashtra’s people. Ihave never done any injury to Dhritarashtra’s son; on the other hand, Iwill slay all the Pandavas in battle. How can they that are wise makepeace again with those that have before been injured? It is always myduty to do all that is agreeable to king Dhritarashtra, and especially toDuryodhana, for he is in possession of the kingdom.’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Having listened to these words of Karna,Bhishma the son of Santanu, addressing king Dhritarashtra, again said,’Although this one often boasteth saying,–I shall slay thePandavas,–yet he is not equal to even a sixteenth part of high-souledPandavas. Know that the great calamity that is about to overtake thy sonsof wicked souls, is the act of this wretched son of a Suta! Relying uponhim, thy foolish son Suyodhana hath insulted those heroes of celestialdescent, those chastiser of all foes. What, however, is that difficultfeat achieved by this wretch before that is equal to any of thoseachieved of old by every one of the Pandavas? Beholding in the city ofVirata his beloved brother slain by Dhananjaya who displayed suchprowess, what did this one then do? When Dhananjaya, rushing against allthe assembled Kurus, crushed them and took away their robes, was this onenot there then? When thy son was being led away as a captive by theGandharvas on the occasion of the tale of the cattle, where was this sonof a Suta then who now belloweth like a bull? Even there, it was Bhima,and the illustrious Partha, and the twins, that encountered theGandharvas and vanquished them. Ever beautiful, and always unmindful ofboth virtue and profit, these, O bull of the Bharata race, are the manyfalse things, blessed be thou, that this one uttereth.’

‘Having heard these words of Bhishma, the high-souled son of Bharadwaja,having paid due homage unto Dhritarashtra and the assembled kings, spokeunto him these words, ‘Do that, O king, which the best of the Bharatas,Bhishma, hath said. It behoveth thee not to act according to the words ofthose that are covetous of wealth. Peace with the Pandavas, before thewar breaks out, seems to be the best. Everything said by Arjuna andrepeated here by Sanjaya, will, I know, be accomplished by that son ofPandu, for there is no bowman equal unto him in the three world!’ Withoutregarding, however, these words spoken by both Drona and Bhishma, theking again asked Sanjaya about the Pandavas. From that moment, when theking returned not a proper answer to Bhishma and Drona, the Kauravas gaveup all hopes of life.'”