Chapter 76

“Sanjaya said, ‘Hearing these words of the high-souled Kesava, Subhadra,afflicted with grief on account of the death of her son, began to indulgein these piteous lamentations: ‘Oh, son of my wretched self, O thou thatwast in prowess equal to thy father, O child, how couldst thou perish,going to battle! Alas, how doth that face of thine which resembleth theblue lotus and is graced with beautiful teeth and excellent eyes, nowseem, now that, O child, it is covered with battle’s dust! Without doubt,thee so brave and unreturning, thee fallen on the field, with beautifulhead and neck and arms, with broad chest, low belly, thy limbs deckedwith ornaments, thee that art endued with beautiful eyes, thee that artmangled with weapon wounds, thee all creatures are, without doubt,beholding as the rising moon! Alas, thou whose bed used to be overlaidwith the whitest and costliest sheets, alas, deserving as thou art ofevery luxury, how dost thou sleep today on the bare earth, thy bodypierced with arrows? That hero of mighty arms who used of old to bewaited upon by the foremost of beautiful women, alas, how can he, fallenon the field of battle, pass his time now in the company of jackals! Hewho of old was praised with hymns by singers and bards and panegyrists,alas, he is today greeted by fierce and yelling cannibals and beasts ofprey. By whom, alas, hast thou been helplessly slain when thou hadst thePandavas, O lord, and all the Panchalas, for thy protectors? Oh son, Osinless one, I am not yet gratified with looking at thee. Wretched as Iam, it is evident that I shall have to go to Yama’s abode. When againshall I cast my eyes on that face of thine, adorned, with large eyes andbeautiful locks that smooth face without pimples, from which sweet wordsand exquisite fragrance constantly issued? Fie on the strength ofBhimasena, on the bowmanship of Partha, on the prowess of the Vrishniheroes, and the might of the Panchalas! Fie on the Kaikeyas, the Chedis,the Matsyas, and the Srinjayas, they that could not protect thee, O hero,while engaged in battle! I behold the earth today to be vacant andcheerless. Without seeing my Abhimanyu, my eyes are troubled withaffliction. Thou wast the sister’s son of Vasudeva, the son of thewielder of Gandiva, and thyself, a hero and an Atiratha. Alas, how shallI behold the slain! Alas, O hero, thou hast been to me like a treasure ina dream that is seen and lost. Oh, every thing human is as transitory asa bubble of water. This thy young wife is overwhelmed with grief onaccount of the evil that hath befallen thee. Alas, how shall I comforther who is even like a cow without her calf! Alas, O son, thou hastprematurely fled from me at a time when thou wast about to bear fruit ofgreatness, although I am longing for a sight of thee. Without, doubt, theconduct of the Destroyer cannot be understood even by the wise, sincealthough thou hast Kesava for thy protector, thou wast yet slain, as ifthou wast perfectly helpless. O son, let that end be thine which istheirs that perform sacrifices and theirs that are Brahmanas of purifiedsoul, and theirs that have practised Brahmacharya, and theirs that havebathed in sacred waters, and theirs that are grateful and charitable anddevoted to the service of their preceptors, and theirs that have madesacrificial presents in profusion. That end which is theirs that arebrave and unretreating while engaged in battle, or theirs that havefallen in battle, having slain their foes, let that end be thine. Thatauspicious end which is theirs that have given away a thousand kine, ortheirs that have given away in sacrifices, or theirs that give awayhouses and mansions agreeable to the recipients, that end which is theirsthat give away gems and jewels to deserving Brahmanas, or theirs that arepunishers of crime, O, let that end be thine. That end which is attainedby Munis of rigid vows by Brahmacharya, or that which is attained bythose women that adhere to but one husband, O son, let that end be thine.That eternal end which is attained by kings by means of good behaviour,or by those persons that have cleansed themselves by leading, one afteranother, all the four modes of life, and through due observance of theirduties, that end which is theirs that are compassionate to the poor andthe distressed, or theirs that equitably divide sweets amongst themselvesand their dependants, or theirs that are never addicted to deceit andwickedness, O son, let that end be thine! That end which is theirs thatare observant of vows, or theirs that are virtuous, or theirs that aredevoted to the service of preceptors, or theirs that have never sent awaya guest unentertained, O son, let that end be thine. That end which istheirs that succeed in distress and the most difficult straits inpreserving the equanimity of their souls, however much scorched theymight be by the fire of grief, O son, let that end be thine. O son, letthat end be thine which is theirs that are always devoted to the serviceof their fathers and mothers, or theirs that are devoted to their ownwives only. O son, let that end be thine which is attained by those wisemen who, restraining themselves from the wives of others, seek thecompanionship of only their own wives in season. O son, let that end bethine which is theirs that look upon all creatures with an eye of peace,or theirs that never give pain to others, or theirs that always forgive.O son, let that end be thine which is theirs that abstain from honey,meat, wine, pride and untruth, or theirs that have refrained from givingpain to others. Let that goal be thine which they attain that are modest,acquainted with all the scriptures, content with knowledge, and havetheir passions under control.’

“And while cheerless Subhadra, afflicted with grief, was indulging insuch lamentations, the princess of Panchala (Draupadi), accompanied byVirata’s daughter (Uttara), came to her. All of them, in great grief,wept copiously and indulged in heart-rending lamentations. And likepersons reft of reason by sorrow, they fainted away and fell down on theearth. Then Krishna, who stood, ready with water, deeply afflicted,sprinkled it over his weeping, unconscious and trembling sister, piercedin her very heart, and comforting her, said what should be said on suchan occasion. And the lotus-eyed one said, ‘Grieve not, O Subhadra! OPanchali, console Uttara! Abhimanyu, that bull among Kshatriyas, hathobtained the most laudable goal. O thou of beautiful face, let all theother men yet alive in our race obtain that goal which Abhimanyu of greatfame hath obtained. Ourselves with all our friends, wish to achieve, inthis battle, that feat, the like of which, O lady, thy son, that mightycar-warrior, hath achieved without any assistance.’ Having consoled hissister and Draupadi and Uttara thus, that chastiser of foes, viz., themighty-armed (Krishna), returned to Partha’s side. Then Krishna, salutingthe kings, friends and Arjuna, entered the inner apartments of the(latter’s) tent while those kings also repaired to respective abodes.'”