Chapter 67

“Vaisampayana said, ‘After Kunti had sat up, Subhadra, beholding herbrother, began to weep aloud, and afflicted with excessive grief,said,–‘O thou of eyes like lotus petals, behold the grandson of Arjunaof great intelligence. Alas, the Kuru race having been thinned, a childhas been born that is feeble and dead. The blade of grass (inspired intoa weapon of great efficacy), uplifted by Drona’s son for compassing thedestruction of Bhimasena, fell upon Uttara and Vijaya and myself.[184]Alas, that blade, O Kesava, is still existing unextracted in me, afterhaving pierced my heart, since I do not, O irresistible hero, behold thischild with (his sire who was) my son. What will the righteous-souled kingYudhishthira the just say? What will Bhimasena and Arjuna and the twosons of Madravati also say? Hearing that Abhimanyu’s son was born anddead, the Pandavas, O thou of Vrishni’s race, will regard themselves ascheated by Aswatthaman. Abhimanyu, O Krishna, was the favourite of allthe Pandava brothers, without doubt. Hearing this intelligence, what willthose heroes, vanquished by the weapon of Drona’s son say? What grief, OJanarddana, can be greater than this viz., that Abhimanyu’s son should beborn dead! Bowing unto thee with my head, O Krishna, I seek to gratifythee today. Behold, O foremost of men, these two standing here, viz.,Pritha and Draupadi. When, O Madhava, the son of Drona sought to destroythe embryos even in the wombs of the ladies of the Pandavas, at thattime, O grinder of foes, thou saidst in wrath unto Drona’s son (everthese words), ‘O wretch of a Brahmana, O vilest of men, I shalldisappoint thy wish. I shall revive the son of Kiritin’s son.’ Hearingthese words of thine and well knowing thy puissance, I seek to gratifythee, O irresistible hero. Let the son of Abhimanyu be revived. It havingpledged thyself previously thou dost not accomplish thy auspicious vow,do thou then know for certain, O chief of the Vrishni race, that I shallcast off my life. If, O hero, this son of Abhimanyu doth not revive whenthou, O irresistible one, art alive and near, of what other use wilt thoube to me? Do thou, therefore, O irresistible one, revive this son ofAbhimanyu,–this child possessed of eyes similar to his,–‘even as arain-charged cloud revives the lifeless crops (on a field). Thou, OKesava, art righteous-souled, truthful, and of prowess incapable of beingbaffled. It behoveth thee, O chastiser of foes, to make thy wordstruthful. If only thou wishest it, thou canst revive the three worlds (ofbeing) if dead. What need I say, therefore, of this darling child, bornbut dead, of thy sister’s son? I know thy puissance, O Krishna.Therefore, do I solicit thee. Do thou show this great favour to the sonsof Pandu. It behoveth thee, O mighty-armed one, to show compassion tothis Uttara or to me, thinking that I am thy sister or even a mother thathath lost her son, and one that hath thrown herself upon thy protection.'”