Chapter 51

Vaisampayana said, “That bull among men–Dhritarashtra–the son ofAmvika, having heard of this wonderful way of life–so above that ofmen–of the sons of Pandu, was filled with anxiety and grief. Andoverwhelmed with melancholy and sighing heavily and hot, that monarch,addressing his charioteer Sanjaya, said, ‘O charioteer, a moment’s peaceI have not, either during the day or the night, thinking of the terriblemisbehaviour of my sons arising out of their past gambling, and thinkingalso of the heroism, the patience, the high intelligence, the unbearableprowess, and the extraordinary love unto one another of the sons ofPandu. Amongst the Pandavas, the illustrious Nakula and Sahadeva, ofcelestial origin and equal unto the chief himself of the celestials insplendour, are invincible in battle. They are firm in the wielding ofweapons, capable of shooting at a long distance, resolute in battle, ofremarkable lightness of hand, of wrath that is not easily quelled,possessed of great steadiness, and endued with activity. Possessed of theprowess of lions and unbearable as the Aswins themselves, when they willcome to the field of battle with Bhima and Arjuna in front, I see, OSanjaya, that my soldiers will all be slain without a remnant. Thosemighty warriors of celestial origin, unrivalled in battle by anybody,filled with rage at the remembrance of that insult to Draupadi, will showno forgiveness. The mighty warriors of the Vrishnis also, and thePanchalas of great energy, and the sons of Pritha themselves, led byVasudeva of unbaffled prowess, will blast my legions. O charioteer, allthe warriors on my side assembled together, are not competent to bear theimpetus of the Vrishnis alone when commanded by Rama and Krishna. Andamongst them will move that great warrior Bhima of terrible prowess,armed with his iron mace held on high and capable of slaying every hero.And high above the din will be heard the twang of the Gandiva loud as thethunder of heaven. The impetus of Bhima’s mace and the loud twang of theGandiva are incapable of being stood against by any of the kings on myside. It is then, O Sanjaya, that obedient as I have been to the voice ofDuryodhana, I shall have to call back the rejected counsels of myfriends–counsels that I should have attended to in time.'”

Sanjaya said, “This hath been thy great fault, O king, viz., that thoughcapable, thou didst not, from affection prevent thy son from doing whathe hath done. The slayer of Madhu, that hero of unfading glory, hearingthat the Pandavas had been defeated at dice, soon went to the woods ofKamyaka and consoled them there. And Draupadi’s sons also headed byDhrishtadyumna, and Virata, and Dhrishtaketu, and those mighty warriors,the Kekayas, all went there. All that was said by these warriors at thesight of Pandu’s son defeated at dice, was learnt by me through ourspies. I have also told thee all, O king. When the slayer of Madhu metthe Pandavas, they requested him to become the charioteer of Phalguna inbattle. Hari himself, thus requested, answered them, saying, ‘so be it.’And even Krishna himself beholding the sons of Pritha dressed in deerskins, became filled with rage, and addressing Yudhishthira, said, ‘Thatprosperity which the sons of Pritha had acquired at Indraprastha, andwhich, unobtainable by other kings, was beheld by me at the Rajasuyasacrifice, at which, besides, I saw all kings, even those of the Vangasand Angas and Paundras and Odras and Cholas and Dravidas and Andhakas,and the chiefs of many islands and countries on the sea-board as also offrontier states, including the rulers of the Sinhalas, the barbarousmlecchas, the natives of Lanka, and all the kings of the West byhundreds, and all the chiefs of the sea-coast, and the kings of thePahlavas and the Daradas and the various tribes of the Kiratas andYavanas and Sakras and the Harahunas and Chinas and Tukharas and theSindhavas and the Jagudas and the Ramathas and the Mundas and theinhabitants of the kingdom of women and the Tanganas and the Kekayas andthe Malavas and the inhabitants of Kasmira, afraid of the prowess of yourweapons, present in obedience to your invitation, performing variousoffices,–that prosperity, O king, so unstable and waiting at present onthe foe, I shall restore to thee, depriving thy foe of his very life. Ishall, O chief of the Kurus, assisted by Rama and Bhima and Arjuna andthe twins and Akrura and Gada and Shamva and Pradyumna and Ahuka and theheroic Dhrishtadyumna and the son of Sisupala, slay in battle in courseof a day Duryodhana and Karna and Dussasana and Suvala’s son and allothers who may fight against us. And thou shalt, O Bharata, living atHastinapura along with thy brothers, and snatching from Dhritarashtra’sparty the prosperity they are enjoying, rule this earth.’ Even these, Oking, were Krishna’s words unto Yudhishthira, who, on the conclusion ofKrishna’s speech, addressed him in that meeting of heroes and in thehearing of all those brave warriors headed by Dhrishtadyumna, saying, ‘OJanardana, I accept these words of thine as truth. O thou of mighty arms,do thou, however, slay my enemies along with all their followers on theexpiry of thirteen years. O Kesava, promise this truly unto me. Ipromised in the presence of the king to live in the forest as I am nowliving.’ Consenting to these words of king Yudhishthira the just, hiscounsellors headed by Dhrishtadyumna soon pacified the incensed Kesavawith sweet words and expressions suitable to the occasion. And they alsosaid unto Draupadi of pure deeds in the hearing of Vasudeva himself,these words, ‘O lady, in consequence of thy anger, Duryodhana shall laydown his life. We promise it, O thou of the fairest complexion.Therefore, grieve no more. O Krishna, those that mocked thee, beholdingthee won at dice, shall reap the fruit of their act. Beasts of prey andbirds shall eat their flesh, and mock them thus. Jackals and vultureswill drink their blood. And, O Krishna, thou shalt behold the bodies ofthose wretches that dragged thee by the hair prostrate on the earth,dragged and eaten by carnivorous animals. They also that gave thee painand disregarded thee shall lie on the earth destitute of their heads, andthe earth herself shall drink their blood.’ These and other speeches ofvarious kinds were uttered there, O king, by those bulls of the Bharatarace. All of them are endued with energy and bravery, and marked with themarks of battle. On the expiration of the thirteenth year, those mightywarriors, chosen by Yudhishthira and headed by Vasudeva, will come (tothe field of battle). Rama and Krishna and Dhananjaya and Pradyumna andShamva and Yuyudhana and Bhima and the sons of Madri and the Kekayaprinces and the Panchala princes, accompanied by the king of Matsya,these all, illustrious and celebrated and invincible heroes, with theirfollowers and troops, will come. Who is there that, desiring to live,will encounter these in battle, resembling angry lions of erect manes?’

“Dhritarashtra said, “What Vidura told me at the time of the game atdice, ‘If thou seekest, O king, to vanquish the Pandavas (at dice), thencertainly a terrible blood-shed ending in the destruction of all theKurus will be the result,’ I think it is about to be realised. As Viduratold me of old, without doubt a terrible battle will take place, as soonas the pledged period of the Pandavas expireth.'”