Chapter 120

Satyaki said, “O Rama! this is not the time of lamentation; let us dothat which is proper and suited to the present occasion, althoughYudhishthira doth not speak a single word. Those who have persons to lookafter their welfare do not undertake anything of themselves; they haveothers to do their work, as Saivya and others did for Yayati. Likewise, ORama! those who have appointed functionaries to undertake their work ontheir own responsibility, as the leaders of men, they may be said to havereal patrons, and they meet with no difficulty, like helpless beings. Howis it that when the sons of Pritha have for their patrons these two men,Rama and Krishna, and the two others, Pradyumna and Samva, together withmyself,–these patrons being able to protect all the three worlds,–howis it that the son of Pritha is living in the wood with his brothers? Itis fit that this very day the army of the Dasarhas should march out,variously armed and with checkered mails. Let Dhritarashtra’s sons beoverwhelmed with the forces of the Vrishinis and let them go with theirfriends to the abode of the god of death. Let him alone who wields thebow made of the horn (Krishna), thou alone, if roused, wouldst be able tosurround even the whole of this earth. I ask thee to kill Dhritarashtra’sson with all his men, as the great Indra, the lord of the gods killVritra. Arjuna, the son of Pritha, is my brother, and also my friend, andalso my preceptor, and is like the second self of Krishna. It is for thisthat men desire for a worthy son, and that preceptor seeks a pupil whowould contradict him not. It is for this that the time is come for thatexcellent work, which is the best of all tasks and difficult to perform.I shall baffle Duryodhana’s volleys of arms by my own excellent weapons.I shall overpower all in the field of battle. I shall in my wrath cut offhis head with my excellent shafts, little inferior to snakes and poisonand fire. And with the keen edge of my sword, I shall forcibly sever hishead from the trunk, in the field of battle; then I shall kill hisfollowers, and Duryodhana, and all of Kuru’s race. O son of Rohini! letthe followers of Bhima look at me with joy at their heart, when I shallkeep up the weapons of war in the field of battle, and when I shall go onslaying all the best fighting men on the side of the Kurus, as at the endof time fire will burn vast heaps of straw. Kripa and Drona and Vikarnaand Kama are not able to bear the keen arrows shot by Pradyumna. I knowthe power of Arjuna’s son–he conducts himself like the son of Krishna inthe field of battle. Let Samva chastise by the force of his armsDussasana; let him destroy by force Dussasana and his charioteer and hiscar. In the field of battle when the son of Jamvavati becomesirresistible in fight, there is nothing which can withstand his force.The army of the demon Samvara was speedily routed by him when only a boy.By him was killed in fight Asvachakra, whose thighs were round, and whosemuscular arms were of exceeding length. Who is there that would be ableto go forward to the car of Samva, who is great in fight, when mounted ona car? As a mortal coming under the clutches of death can never escape;so who is there that once coming under his clutches in the field ofbattle, is able to return with his life? The son of Vasudeva will burndown by the volleys of his fiery shafts all the hostile troops, and thosetwo warriors, Bhishma and Drona,–who are great on a car, and Somadattasurrounded by all his sons. What is there in all the world including thegods, which Krishna cannot encounter on an equal footing, when he takesup the weapons of war, wields in his hands excellent arrows, arms himselfwith his dice, and thus becomes unrivalled in fight? Then let Aniruddhaalso take up in his hand his buckler and sword, and let him cover thesurface of the earth with Dhritarashtra’s sons, their heads separatedfrom their trunks, their bodies devoid of all consciousness as in asacrificial rite the altar is overspread with sacred grass placed uponthe same. And Gada and Uluka, and Vahuka and Bhanu and Nitha and theyoung Nishatha valiant in battle and Sarana, and Charudeshna,irresistible in war, let them perform feats befitting their race. Let theunited army of the Satwatas and Suras, together with the best soldiers ofthe Vrishnis, the Bhojas, and the Andhakas, kill those sons ofDhritarashtra in the field of battle and let them swell their expandedfame throughout the world. Then let Abhimanyu rule the world so long asthis most excellent of virtuous men, the magnanimous Yudhishthira, may beengaged in fulfilling his vow,–the vow that was accepted and declared byhim, the most righteous of Kuru’s race, on the occasion of the famousplay at dice. Afterwards the virtuous king will protect the earth, allhis foes defeated in battle by shafts which will be discharged by us.Then there will remain no sons of Dhritarashtra on earth,–nor the son ofthe charioteer (Kama). This is the most important work for us to do, andthis will surely lead to fame.”

“Krishna said, ‘O scion of the race of Madhu! no doubt what thou sayestis true; we accept thy words, O thou of courage that is never weak! Butthis bull of the Kuru race (Yudhishthira) would never accept thesovereignty of the earth, unless it were won by the prowess of his ownarms. Neither for the sake of pleasure, nor from fear, nor fromcovetousness, would Yudhishthira ever renounce the rules of the caste;nor would these two heroes, who are mighty, when mounted on a car–Bhimaand Arjuna; nor the twin brothers, nor Krishna, the daughter of Drupada.He possessing the appetite of a wolf (Bhima), and the winner of riches(Arjuna), are both unrivalled in fight throughout the world. And whyshould not this king rule over the entire world when he hath the two sonsof Madri to espouse his cause? The high-souled ruler of Panchala togetherwith the Kekaya king, and we also should put forth our united strength,and then would the enemies of Yudhisthira be annihilated.'”

“Yudhishthira said, ‘It is not strange that thou shouldst speak thus, Oscion of Madhu’s race! but to me truth seems to be the firstconsideration, above that of my sovereign power itself. But it is Krishnaalone who precisely knoweth what I am; and it is I alone who preciselyknow what Krishna (really) is. O thou endued with valour! O scion ofMadhu’s race! as soon as he will perceive that the time is come for featsof bravery, then, O most valiant of Sini’s race, he also of beautifulhair (Krishna) will defeat Suyodhana. Let the brave men of the Dasarharace go back today. They are my patrons; and the foremost of humanbeings, they have visited me here. O ye of immeasurable strength! neverfall off from the path of virtue. I shall see you again, when ye will behappily gathered together.’

“Then after mutual greeting and obeisance to seniors, and having embracedthe youthful, those valiant men of the Yadu race and the sons of Panduseparated. And the Yadus reunited to their home; and the Pandavascontinued their journey to the sacred spots. Then having parted withKrishna, the virtuous king, accompanied by his brothers and servants, andalso by Lomasa, went to the sacred river Payosini. Its fine landing placewas constructed by the king of Vidarbha. And he began to dwell on thebanks of the Payosini, whose waters were mingled with the distilled Somajuice. There the high-souled Yudhishthira was greeted with excellentlaudatory, terms by numerous leaders of the twice-born class, who weredelighted to see him there.”