Chapter 6

Vaishampayana said: “The Kuru prince beheld the heroic and high-souledAnakadundubhi lying on the ground and burning with grief on account ofhis sons. The broad-chested and mighty-armed son of Pritha, moreafflicted than his uncle, with eyes bathed in tears, touched his unclesfeet, O Bharata. The mighty-armed Anakadundubhi wished to smell the headof his sisters son but failed to do it, O slayer of foes. The old man ofmighty arms, deeply afflicted, embraced Partha with his arms and weptaloud, remembering his sons, brothers, grandsons, daughters sons, andfriends.

“Vasudeva said, Without beholding those heroes, O Arjuna, who hadsubjugated all the kings of the Earth and the Daityas a hundred times, Iam still alive! Methinks, I have no death! Through the fault of those twoheroes who were thy dear disciples and who were much regarded by thee,also, O Partha, the Vrishnis have been destroyed. Those two who wereregarded as Atirathas amongst the foremost of the Vrishnis, and referringto whom in course of conversation thou wert wont to indulge in pride, andwho, O chief of Kurus race, were ever dear to Krishna himselfalas, thosetwo, O Dhananjaya, have been the chief causes of the destruction of theVrishnis! I do not censure the son of Sini or the son of Hridika, OArjuna. I do not censure Akrura or the son of Rukmini. No doubt, thecurse (of the Rishis) is the sole cause. How is it that that lord of theuniverse, the slayer of Madhu, who had put forth his prowess forachieving the destruction of Kesin and Kansa, and Chaidya swelling withpride, and Ekalavya, the son of the ruler of the Nishadas, and theKalingas and the Magadhas, and the Gandharas and the king of Kasi, andmany rulers assembled together in the midst of the desert, many heroesbelonging to the East and the South, and many kings of the mountainousregionsalas, how could he remain indifferent to such a calamity as thecurse denounced by the Rishis? Thyself, Narada, and the Munis, knew himto be the eternal and sinless Govinda, the Deity of unfading glory. Alas,being puissant Vishnu himself, he witnessed, without interfering, thedestruction of his kinsmen! My son must have himself allowed all this tohappen. He was the Lord of the universe. He did not, however, wish tofalsify the words of Gandhari and the Rishis, O scorcher of foes. In thyvery sight, O hero, thy grandson, who had been slain by Ashvatthama, wasrevived through his energy. That friend, however, of yours did not wishto protect his kinsmen. Beholding his sons and grandsons and brothers andfriends lying dead, he said unto me these words, O chief of Bharatasrace, “The destruction of this our race has at last come. Vibhatsu willcome to this city, Dwaravati. Tell him what has occurred, this greatcarnage of the Vrishnis. I have no doubt that as soon as he will hear ofthe destruction of the Yadus, that hero of mighty energy will come herewithout any loss of time. Know, O father, that I am Arjuna and Arjuna ismyself. That should be done by thee which he would say. The son of Panduwill do what is best for the women and the children. Even he will performthy funeral rites. This city of Dwaravati, after Arjunas departure, will,with its walls and edifices, be swallowed up by the ocean without anydelay. As regards myself, retiring to some sacred place, I shall bide myhour, with the intelligent Rama in my company, observing strict vows allthe while.” Having said these words unto me, Hrishikesa of inconceivableprowess, leaving me with the children, has gone away to some spot which Ido not know. Thinking of those two high-souled brothers of thine, as alsoof the terrible carnage of my kinsmen, I have abstained from all food,and am emaciated with grief. I shall neither eat, nor live. By good luckthou meetest me, O son of Pandu. Do thou accomplish all, O Partha, thatKrishna has said. This kingdom, with all these women, and all the wealthhere, is thine now, O son of Pritha. As regards myself, O slayer of foes,I shall cast off my life-breaths dear though they be.”