Chapter 146

“Sanjaya said, ‘After the ruler of the Sindhus had been slain by Partha,Krishna, repairing unto the king, viz., Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma,worshipped the latter with a gladdened heart. And he said, ‘By good luck,O king of kings, thy prosperity increaseth. O best of men, thy foe hathbeen slain. By good luck, thy younger brother hath accomplished his vow.’Thus addressed by Krishna, that subjugator of hostile towns, viz., kingYudhishthira, filled with joy, came down from his car, O Bharata! Hiseyes filled with tears of joy, he embraced the two Krishnas and wipinghis bright and lotus-like face, said these words unto Vasudeva, andDhananjaya, the son of Pandu, ‘Ye mighty car-warriors, by good luck, Ibehold both of you after ye have accomplished your task. By good luck,that sinful wretch, viz., the ruler of the Sindhus, hath been slain. YeKrishnas, by good luck, ye have done that which hath filled me with greathappiness. By good luck, our foes have been plunged into an ocean ofgrief. Thou art the sovereign lord of all the worlds, O slayer of Madhu!In the three worlds they that have thee for their preceptor can have noobject incapable of accomplishment. Through thy grace, O Govinda, we willconquer our foes, like Indra conquering the Danavas in days of old. Be itthe conquest of the world, or be it the conquest of the three worlds,everything is certain, O thou of the Vrishni race, in their case withwhom thou art gratified, O giver of honours! They can have no sin, norcan they meet with defeat in battle with whom thou, O lord of thecelestials, art gratified, O giver of honours! It is through thy grace, OHrishikesa, that Sakra hath become the chief of the celestials. It isthrough thy grace, that blessed personage obtained on the field of battlethe sovereignty of the three worlds! It is through thy grace, O lord ofthe celestials, that the latter obtained immortality, O Krishna, andenjoy eternal regions (of bliss). Having slain thousands of Daityas, withprowess having its origin in thy grace, O slayer of foes, Sakra obtainedthe lordship of the celestials. Through thy grace, O Hrishikesa, themobile and immobile universe, without swerving from its (ordained)course, O hero, is engaged in prayers and homa![178] In the beginning,this universe, enveloped in darkness, had been one vast expanse of water.Through thy grace, O mighty-armed one, the universe became manifest, Obest of men! Thou art the creator of all the worlds, thou art the SupremeSoul, and thou art immutable! They that behold thee, O Hrishikesa, arenever confounded. Thou art the Supreme God, thou art the God of gods, andthou art Eternal. They that seek refuge with thee, O lord of the gods,are never confounded. Without beginning and without death, thou artDivine, the Creator of all the worlds, and immutable. They that aredevoted to thee, O Hrishikesa, always tide over every difficulty. Thouart Supreme, the Ancient one, the Divine-Being, and that which is theHighest of the high. He that attaineth to that viz., thy Supreme Selfhath ordained for him the highest prosperity. Thou art sung in the fourVedas. The four Vedas sing of thee. Be seeking thy shelter, O high-souledone, I shall enjoy unrivalled prosperity. Thou art the Supreme God, thouart the God of the highest gods, thou art the lord of Winged creatures,and the lord of all human beings. Thou art the Supremest Lord ofeverything. I bow to thee, O best of beings! Thou art the Lord, the Lordof lords O puissant one! Prosperity to thee, O Madhava! O thou of largeeyes, O Universal soul, Thou art the origin of all things. He, again,that is a friend of Dhananjaya or is engaged in Dhananjaya’s good,obtaineth thee that art the preceptor of Dhananjaya and attaineth tohappiness.’ Thus addressed by him those high-souled ones, viz., Kesavaand Arjuna, cheerfully said unto the king, that lord of the earth, ‘Thesinful king Jayadratha, hath been consumed by the fire of thy wrath. Opuissant one, although the Dhartarashtra host is vast and swelleth withpride, yet, O Bharata, struck and slain, it is being exterminated. Oslayer of foes, it is in consequence of thy wrath that the Kauravas arebeing destroyed. Having, O hero, angered thee that canst slay with thyeyes alone, the wicked-minded Suyodhana, with his friends and kinsmen,will have to lay down his life in battle. Slain before in consequence ofthy ire, and struck down also by the gods themselves, the invincibleBhishma, the grandsire of the Kurus, lieth now on a bed of arrows. Oslayer of foes, victory in battle is unattainable by them, and death alsowaiteth for them, that have thee, O son of Pandu, for their foe. Kingdom,life, dear ones, children, and diverse kinds of bliss, will soon be lostby him with whom thou, O scorcher of foes, hast been angry. I regard theKauravas to be lost with their sons, and kinsmen, when thou, O scorcherof foes, that art observant of the duties of a king, hast been angry withthem.’ Then Bhima, O king, and the mighty car-warrior Satyaki, bothmangled with shafts, saluted their senior. And those two mighty bowmensat down on the ground, surrounded by the Panchalas, Beholding those twoheroes filled with joy and arrived and waiting with joined hands, the sonof Kunti congratulated them both, saying, ‘By good luck, it is that I seeyou both, ye heroes, escaped with lire from that sea of (hostile) troops,that sea in which Drona acted the part of an invincible alligator, andthe son of Hridika that of a fierce shark. By good luck, all the kings ofthe earth have been vanquished (by you two).[179] By good luck, I seeboth of you victorious in battle. By good luck, Drona hath beenvanquished in battle, and that mighty car-warrior also viz., the son ofHridika. By good luck, Karna hath been vanquished in battle with barbedshafts. By good luck, Salya also was obliged to turn away from the fieldby you both, ye bulls among men. By good luck, I behold you both comeback from battle safe and sound, ye that are foremost of car-warriors andwell-skilled in battle! By good luck, I behold again, ye heroes, thathave forded that sea of troops in obedience to my command, ye that wentto battle impelled by the desire of honouring me! Ye are heroesdelighting in battle. Ye are to me as life. By good luck, I see youboth.’ Having said this, the son of Pandu, O king, embraced bothYuyudhana and Vrikodara, those tigers among men, and shed tears of joy.Then, O monarch, the entire host of the Pandavas became cheerful andfilled with joy. And all of them once more set their hearts on battle.'”