Chapter 71

“Sanjaya said, ‘Having heard these joyful words of king Yudhishthira,Govinda of virtuous soul, that delighter of the Yadus, then addressedPartha. The latter, however, having at the instance of Krishna addressedthose words unto Yudhishthira, became exceedingly cheerless for havingcommitted a trivial sin. Then Vasudeva, smiling, said unto the son ofPandu, “What would have been thy condition, O Partha, if, observant ofvirtue thou hadst slain the son of Dharma with thy sharp sword? Havingonly addressed the king as thou, such cheerlessness hath possessed thyheart. If thou hadst slain the king, O Partha, what wouldst thou havedone after that? Morality is so inscrutable, especially by persons offoolish understanding. Without doubt great grief would have been thine inconsequence of thy fear of sin. Thou wouldst have sunk also in terriblehell in consequence of the slaughter of thy brother. Gratify now thisking of virtuous behaviour, this foremost of all practisers of virtue,this chief of Kuru’s race. Even this is my wish. Gratifying the king withdevotion, and after Yudhishthira will have been made happy, we two willproceed against the car of the Suta’s son for fighting him. Slaying Karnatoday with thy keen shafts in battle, do thou, O giver of honours, givegreat happiness to Dharma’s son. Even this, O mighty-armed one, is what Ithink to be suitable to this hour. Having done this, thy purpose will beachieved.” Then Arjuna, O monarch, in shame, touched king Yudhishthira’sfeet with his head. And he repeatedly said unto that chief of theBharatas, “Be pleased with me, Forgive, O king, all that I have said fromdesire of observing virtue and from fear of sins.'”

“Sanjaya said, ‘Beholding Dhananjaya, that slayer of foes, lying weepingat his feet, O bull of Bharata’s race, king Yudhishthira the just raisedhis brother. And king Yudhishthira, that lord of the earth, then embracedhis brother affectionately and wept aloud. The two brothers, of greatsplendour, having wept for a long while, at last became freed from grief,O monarch, and as cheerful as before. Then embracing him once more withaffection and smelling his head, the son of Pandu, exceedingly gratified,applauded his brother Jaya and said, “O thou of mighty arms, in the verysight of all the troops, my armour, standard, bow, dart, steeds, andarrows, were cut off in battle, O great bowman, by Karna with his shafts,although I exerted myself with care. Thinking of and seeing his feats inbattle, O Phalguna, I lose my energies in grief. Life itself is no longerdear to me. If thou dost not slay that hero in battle today, I will castaway my life breaths. What use have I with life?” Thus addressed, Vijaya,replied, O bull of Bharata’s race, saying, “I swear by Truth, O king, andby thy grace, by Bhima, O best of men, and by the twins, O lord of theearth, that today I shall slay Karna, in battle, or, being myself slainby him fall down on the earth. Swearing truly, I touch my weapons.”Having said these words unto the king, he addressed Madhava, saying,”Without doubt, O Krishna, I will slay Karna in battle today. Aided bythy intelligence, blessed be thou, the slaughter of that wicked-souledone is certain.” Thus addressed, Keshava, O best of kings, said untoPartha, “Thou art competent, O best of the Bharatas, to slay the mightyKarna. Even this hath ever been my thought, O mighty car-warrior, as tohow, O best of men thou, wouldst slay Karna in battle.” Endued with greatintelligence, Madhava once more addressed the son of Dharma, saying, “OYudhishthira, it behoveth thee to comfort Vibhatsu, and command him toslaughter Karna of wicked soul. Having heard that thou hadst beenafflicted with shafts of Karna, myself and this one came hither, O son ofPandu, for ascertaining thy plight. By good luck, O king, thou wert notslain. By good luck thou wert not seized. Comfort thy Vibhatsu, and blesshim, O sinless one, with thy wishes for his victory.'”

“‘Yudhishthira said, “Come, Come, O Partha, O Vibhatsu, and embrace me, Oson of Pandu. Thou hast told me beneficial words that deserved to besaid, and I have forgiven thee. I command thee, O Dhananjaya, go and slayKarna. Do not, O Partha, be angry for the harsh words I said unto thee.'”

“Sanjaya continued, ‘Then Dhananjaya, O king, bowed unto Yudhishthira bybending his head, and seized with his two hands, O sire, the feet of hiseldest brother. Raising him and embracing him closely, the king smelt hishead and once more said these words unto him, “O Dhananjaya, O thou ofmighty arms, I have been greatly honoured by thee. Do thou ever wingreatness and victory.'”

“‘Arjuna said, “Approaching Radha’s son today that is proud of his might,I shall slay that man of sinful deeds with my shafts in battle, alongwith all his kinsmen and followers. He who, having bent the bow strongly,afflicted thee with his shafts, I say, that Karna, will obtain today thebitter fruit of that act of his. Having slain Karna, O lord of the earth,I shall today come back from the dreadful battle to pay thee my respectsby walking behind thee. I tell thee this truly. Without having slainKarna I shall not come back today from the great battle. Truly do I swearthis by touching thy feet, O lord of the universe.'”

“Sanjaya continued, ‘Unto the diadem-decked (Arjuna) who was speaking inthat way, Yudhishthira, with a cheerful heart, said these words of graveimport, “Do thou obtain imperishable fame, and such a period of life asaccordeth with thy own desire, and victory, and energy, and thedestruction of thy foes. Let the gods grant thee prosperity. Obtain thouall these to the measure desired by me. Go quickly to battle, and slayKarna, even as Purandara slew Vritra for his own aggrandisement.”‘”