Chapter 19

“Gandhari said, There, O Madhava, my son Vikarna, applauded by the wise,lieth on the bare ground, slain by Bhima and mangled horribly! Deprivedof life, O slayer of Madhu, Vikarna lieth in the midst of (slain)elephants like the moon in the autumnal sky surrounded by blue clouds.His broad palm, cased in leathern fence, and scarred by constant wieldingof the bow, is pierced with difficulty by vultures desirous of feedingupon it. His helpless young wife, O Madhava, is continually endeavouring,without success, to drive away those vultures desirous of feeding oncarrion. The youthful and brave and handsome Vikarna, O bull among men,brought up in luxury and deserving of every kind of weal, now sleepethamid the dust, O Madhava! Though all his vital parts have been piercedwith clothyard shafts and bearded arrows and nalikas, yet that beauty ofperson which was his hath not forsaken this best of the Bharatas. There,my son Durmukha, that slayer of large band of foes, sleepeth, with facetowards the enemy, slain by the heroic Bhimasena in observance of hisvow. His face, O Krishna, half-eaten away by beasts of prey, looketh morehandsome, O child, even like the moon on the seventh day of the lightedfortnight. Behold, O Krishna, the face of that heroic son of mine, whichis even such. How could that son of mine be slain by foes and thus madeto eat the dust? O amiable one, how could that Durmukha, before whom nofoe could stand, be slain by foes, O subjugator of celestial regions!Behold, O slayer of Madhu, that other son of Dhritarashtra, Citrasena,slain and lying on the ground, that hero who was the model of all bowmen?Those young ladies, afflicted with grief and uttering piteous cries, arenow sitting, with beasts of prey, around his fair form adorned withwreaths and garlands. These loud wails of woe, uttered by women, andthese cries and roars of beasts of prey, seem exceedingly wonderful tome, O Krishna! Youthful and handsome, and always waited upon and servedby the most beautiful ladies, my son Vivinsati, O Madhava, sleepeththere, stained with dust. His armour hath been pierced with arrows. Slainin the midst of the carnage, alas, the heroic Vivimshati is nowsurrounded and waited upon by vultures! Having in battle penetrated theranks of the Pandava army, that hero now lieth on the bed of a hero,–onthe bed, that is, of an exalted Kshatriya! Behold, O Krishna, his verybeautiful face, with a smile playing on it, adorned with excellent noseand fair eyebrows, and resembling the resplendent Moon himself! Formerlya large number of the most beautiful ladies used to wait upon him, likethousands of celestial girls upon a sporting gandharva. Who again couldendure my son Duhsaha, that slayer of heroic foes, that hero, thatornament of assemblies, that irresistible warrior, that resister of foes?The body of Duhsaha, covered with arrows, looks resplendent like amountain overgrown with flowering karnikaras. With his garland of goldand his bright armour, Duhsaha, though deprived of life, looksresplendent yet, like a white mountain of fire!”