Chapter 74

“Sanjaya said, ‘Hearing these words of Keshava, O Bharata, Vibhatsu sooncast off his anxiety and became cheerful. Rubbing then the string ofgandiva and stretching it, he held his bow for the destruction of Karna,and addressed Keshava, saying, ‘With thee for my protector, O Govinda,and when thou that art acquainted with the past and the future artgratified with me today, victory is sure to be mine. Aided by thee, OKrishna, I can, in great battle, destroy the three worlds assembledtogether, what need be said of Karna then? I see the Pancala host isflying away, O Janardana. I see also Karna careering fearlessly inbattle. I see too the bhargava weapon careering in all directions, havingbeen invoked by Karna, O thou of Vrishni’s race, like the puissantthunder invoked by Shakra. This is that battle in which Karna will beslain by me and of which all creatures will speak as long as the earthwill last. Today, O Krishna, unbarbed arrows, impelled by my arms andsped from the gandiva, mangling Karna, will take him to Yama. Today kingDhritarashtra will curse that intelligence of his in consequence of whichhe had installed Duryodhana, who was undeserving of sovereignty, on thethrone. Today, O mighty-armed one, Dhritarashtra will be divested ofsovereignty, happiness, prosperity, kingdom, city, and sons. I tell theetruly, O Krishna, that today, Karna being slain, Duryodhana will becomehopeless of both life and kingdom. Today, beholding Karna cut in piecesby me with my arrows, like Vritra in days of yore by Indra in the battlebetween the gods and the asuras, let king Duryodhana call to mind thewords thou hast spoken for bringing about peace. Today let the son ofSubala, O Krishna, know that my shafts are dice, my gandiva the box forthrowing them, and my car, the chequered cloth. O Govinda, slaying Karnawith keen shafts I will dispel the long sleeplessness of Kunti’s son.Today the royal son of Kunti, upon the slaughter of the Suta’s son by me,shall be gratified and be of cheerful heart and obtain happiness forever. Today, O Keshava, I will shoot an irresistible and unrivalled arrowthat will deprive Karna of life. Even this, O Krishna, was the vow ofthat wicked-souled one about my slaughter, viz., ‘I will not wash my feettill I slay Phalguna.’ Falsifying this vow of that wretch, O slayer ofMadhu, I will, with straight shafts, throw down his body today from hiscar. Today the earth will drink the blood of that Suta’s son who inbattle condemns all other men on earth! With Dhritarashtra’s approbation,the Suta’s son Karna, boasting of his own merits, had said, ‘Thou hast nohusband now, O Krishna!’ My keen shafts will falsify that speech of his.Like angry snakes of virulent poison, they will drink his life-blood.Cloth-yard shafts, of the effulgence of the lightning, shot by myselfpossessed of mighty arms, sped from Gandiva, will send Karna on his lastjourney. Today the son of Radha will repent for those cruel words that hesaid unto the princess of Pancala in the midst of the assembly, indisparagement of the Pandavas! They that were on that occasion sesameseeds without kernel, will today become seeds with kernel after the fallof the Suta’s son Karna of wicked soul, otherwise called Vaikartana! ‘Iwill save ye from the sons of Pandu!’–even these were the words thatKarna, bragging of his own merits, said unto the sons of Dhritarashtra!My keen shafts will falsify that speech of his! Today, in the very sightof all the bowmen, I will slay that Karna who said, ‘I will slay all thePancalas with their sons.’ Today, O slayer of Madhu, I will slay thatKarna, that son of Radha, relying on whose prowess the proud son ofDhritarashtra, of wicked understanding, always disregarded us. Today, OKrishna, after Karna’s fall, the Dhartarashtras with their king, struckwith panic, will fly away in all directions, like deer afraid of thelion. Today let king Duryodhana repent upon the slaughter of Karna, withhis sons and relatives, by me in battle. Today, beholding Karna slain,let the wrathful son of Dhritarashtra, O Krishna, know me to be theforemost of all bowmen in battle. Today, I will make king Dhritarashtra,with his sons and grandsons and counsellors and servants, shelterless.Today, cranes and other carnivorous birds will, O Keshava, sport over thelimbs of Karna cut off into pieces with my shafts. Today, O slayer ofMadhu, I will cut off in battle the head of Radha’s son Karna, in thevery sight of all the bowmen. Today, O slayer of Madhu, I will cut off inbattle the limbs of Radha’s son of wicked soul with keen vipathas andrazor-faced arrows. Today, the heroic king Yudhishthira will cast off agreat pain and a great sorrow cherished long in his heart. Today, OKeshava, slaying the son of Radha, with all his kinsmen, I will gladdenking Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma. Today, I will slay the cheerlessfollowers of Karna in battle, with shafts resembling the blazing fire orthe poison of the snake. Today, with my straight shafts equipped withvulturine feathers, I will, O Govinda, cause the earth to be strewn with(the bodies of) kings cased in golden armour. Today, O slayer of Madhu, Iwill, with keen shafts, crush the bodies and cut off the heads of all thefoes of Abhimanyu. Today, I will bestow the earth, divested ofDhartarashtras on my brother, or, perhaps, thou, O Keshava, wilt walkover the earth divested of Arjuna! Today, O Krishna, I will free myselffrom the debt I owe to all bowmen, to my own wrath, to the Kurus, to myshafts, and to gandiva. Today, I will be freed from the grief that I havecherished for thirteen years, O Krishna, by slaying Karna in battle likeMaghavat slaying Samvara. Today, after I have slain Karna in battle, letthe mighty car-warriors of the Somakas, who are desirous of accomplishingthe task of their allies, regard their task as accomplished. I do notknow what will be the measure, O Madhava, of the joy of Sini’s grandsontoday after I shall have slain Karna and won the victory. Today, I willslay Karna in battle as also his son, that mighty car-warrior, and givejoy to Bhima and the twins and Satyaki. Today, slaying Karna in dreadfulbattle, I will pay off my debt, O Madhava, to the Pancalas withDhrishtadyumna and Shikhandi! Today let all behold the wrathfulDhananjaya fight with the Kauravas in battle and slay the Suta’s son.Once more there is none equal to me in the world. In prowess also, who isthere that resembles me? What other man is there that is equal to me inforgiveness? In wrath also, there is no one that is equal to me. Armedwith the bow and aided by the prowess of my arms, I can vanquish theAsuras and the gods and all creatures united together. Know that myprowess is higher than the highest. Alone assailing all the Kurus and theBahlikas with the fire of my shafts issuing from Gandiva, I will, puttingforth my might, burn them with their followers like a fire in the midstof a heap of dry grass at the close of winter. My palms bear these marksof arrows and this excellent and outstretched bow with arrow fixed on thestring. On each of the soles of my feet occur the mark of a car and astandard. When a person like me goeth forth to battle, he cannot bevanquished by any one.” Having said these words unto Acyuta, thatforemost of all heroes, that slayer of foes, with blood red eyes,proceeded quickly to battle, for rescuing Bhima and cutting off the headfrom Karna’s trunk.'”