Chapter 68

“Sanjaya said, ‘Hearing that Karna of mighty energy was still alive,Pritha’s son Yudhishthira of immeasurable energy, exceedingly angry withPhalguna and burning with the shafts of Karna, said these words untoDhananjaya, “O sire, thy army is fled and hath been beaten in a way thatis scarcely honourable! Inspired with fear and deserting Bhima, thou hastcome hither since thou hast been unable to slay Karna. Thou hast, byentering her womb, rendered the conception of Kunti abortive. Thou hastacted improperly by deserting Bhima, because thou wert unable to slay theSuta’s son. Thou hadst, O Partha, said unto me in the Dwaita woods thatthou wouldst, on a single car, slay Karna. Why, then, through fear ofKarna hast come hither, avoiding Karna and deserting Bhima? If in theDwaita woods thou hadst said unto me, ‘O king, I shall not be able tofight with Karna,’ we would then, O Partha, have made other arrangementssuitable to the circumstances. Having promised me the slaughter of Karna,thou hast not, O hero, kept that promise. Bringing us into the midst offoes, why hast thou broken us into pieces by throwing us down on a hardsoil? Expecting diverse good things and benefits from thee, O Arjuna, wehave always uttered blessings on thee. All those expectations, however, Oprince, have proved vain like those of persons expectant of fruit gettinginstead of a tree burthened only with flowers! Like a fish-hook hidwithin a piece of meat, or poison overlaid with food, thou didst, fordisappointing us at last, point out destruction in the shape of kingdomunto ourselves covetous of kingdom! For these thirteen years, ODhananjaya, we have, from hope, lived relying on thee, like seeds sown onearth in expectation of the showers sent by the gods in season! Eventhese were the words that a voice in the skies had said unto Pritha onthe seventh day after thy birth, O thou of foolish understanding! ‘Thisson of thine that is born will have the prowess of Vasava himself! Hewill vanquish all his heroic foes! Endued with superior energy, he willat Khandava vanquish all the celestials united together and diverse othercreatures. This one will subjugate the Madras, the Kalingas, and theKaikeyas. This one will, in the midst of many kings, slay the Kurus.There will be no bowman superior to him, and no creature will ever beable to vanquish him. With his senses under control, and having obtainedmastery over all branches of knowledge, this one, by merely desiring it,will bring all creatures under subjection to himself. This high-souledson that is born of thee, O Kunti, will in beauty be the rival of Soma,in speed of the god of wind, in patience of Meru, in forgiveness ofEarth, in splendour of Surya, in prosperity of the Lord of treasures, incourage of Sakra, and in might of Vishnu. He will be the slayer of allfoes like Vishnu, the son of Aditi. Endued with immeasurable energy, hewill be celebrated for the destruction he will deal to foes and thesuccess he will win for friends. He will, besides, be the founder of arace!’ Even thus, in the skies, on the summit of the Satasringamountains, in the hearing of many ascetics, that voice spoke. All that,however, hath not come to pass. Alas, it shows that the gods even mayspeak untruths! Hearing also the words of praise always uttered aboutthee by many foremost of Rishis, I never expected that Suyodhana wouldwin success and prosperity or that thou thyself wouldst be afflicted withthe fear of Karna! Thou ridest upon an excellent car constructed by thecelestial artificer himself, with axles that do not creak, and withstandard that bears the ape. Thou bearest a sword attached to thy belt ofgold and silk. This thy bow Gandiva is full six cubits long. Thou hastKeshava for thy driver. Why, then, through fear of Karna hast thou comeaway from battle, O Partha? If, O thou of wicked soul, thou hadst giventhis bow to Keshava and become his driver, then Keshava could have (bythis time) slain the fierce Karna like the lord of the Maruts (Sakra)slaying with his thunder the Asura Vritra. If thou art unable to resistthe fierce son of Radha today, as he is careering in battle, give thisthy Gandiva today to some other king, that may be thy superior in (theuse and knowledge of) weapons. If that be done, the world will not thenbehold us bereft of sons and wives, deprived of happiness in consequenceof the loss of kingdom, and sunk, O son of Pandu, in an unfathomable hellof great misery. It would have been better for thee if thou hadst neverbeen born in the womb of Kunti, or having taken thy birth there, if thouhadst come out on the fifth month an abortion, than to have, O prince,thus come away from battle, O thou of wicked soul! Fie on thy Gandiva,fie on the might of thy arms, fie on thy inexhaustible arrows! Fie on thybanner with the gigantic ape on it, and fie on thy car given thee by thegod of fire!”‘”