Chapter 8

Vaishampayana said: “As Arjuna entered the asylum of the truthful Rishi,he beheld the son of Satyavati seated in a secluded spot.

“Approaching that Rishi of high vows and endued with a knowledge of allduties, he said, I am Arjuna, and then awaited his pleasure. Satyavatisson, endued with high penances, answered, saying Welcome! Of tranquilsoul, the great Muni further said, Take thy seat. Seeing that the son ofPritha was exceedingly cheerless and breathing heavy sighs repeatedly andfilled with despair, Vyasa addressed him, saying, “Hast thou beensprinkled with water from anybodys nails or hair, or the end of anybodyscloth, or from the mouth of a jar? Hast thou had sexual congress with anywoman before the cessation of her functional flow? Hast thou slain aBrahmana? Hast thou been vanquished in battle? Thou lookest like oneshorn of prosperity. I do not know that thou hast been defeated byanyone. Why then, O chief of Bharatas race, this exceedingly dejectedaspect? It behoveth thee, O son of Pritha, to tell me all, if, indeed,there be no harm in telling it.”

“Arjuna said, He whose complexion was like that of a (newly-risen) cloud,he whose eyes were like a pair of large lotus petals, Krishna, has, withRama, cast off his body and ascended to Heaven. At Prabhasa, through ironbolts generated by the curse denounced by Brahmanas, the destruction hastaken place of the Vrishni heroes. Awful hath that carnage been, and noteven a single hero has escaped. The heroes of the Bhoja, the Andhaka, andthe Vrishni races, O Brahmana, who were all endued with high souls, greatmight, and leonine pride, have slaughtered one another in battle.Possessed of arms that looked like maces of iron, and capable of bearingthe strokes of heavy clubs and darts, alas, they have all been slain withblades of Eraka grass. Behold the perverse course of Time. 500,000mighty-armed warriors have thus been laid low. Encountering one another,they have met with destruction. Thinking repeatedly of this carnage ofthe Yadava warriors of immeasurable energy and of the illustriousKrishna, I fail to derive peace of mind. The death of the wielder ofSarnga is as incredible as the drying up of the ocean, the displacementof a mountain, the falling down of the vault of heaven, or the coolingproperty of fire. Deprived of the company of the Vrishni heroes, I desirenot to live in this world. Another incident has happened that is morepainful than this, O thou that art possessed of wealth of penances.Repeatedly thinking of it, my heart is breaking. In my very sight, OBrahmana, thousands of Vrishni ladies were carried away by the Abhiras ofthe country of the five waters, who assailed us. Taking up my bow I foundmyself unequal to even string it. The might that had existed in my armsseemed to have disappeared on that occasion. O great ascetic, my weaponsof diverse kinds failed to make their appearance. Soon, again, my shaftsbecame exhausted. That person of immeasurable soul, of four arms,wielding the conch, the discus, and the mace, clad in yellow robes, darkof complexion, and possessing eyes resembling lotus-petals, is no longerseen by me. Alas, reft of Govinda, what have I to live for, dragging mylife in sorrow? He who used to stalk in advance of my car, that divineform endued with great splendour and unfading puissance, consuming as heproceeded all hostile warriors, can no longer be seen by me. No longerbeholding him who by his energy first burnt all hostile troops whom Iafterwards despatched with shafts sped from Gandiva, I am filled withgrief and my head swims, O best of men. Penetrated with cheerlessness anddespair, I fail to obtain peace of mind. I dare not live, reft of theheroic Janardana. As soon as I heard that Vishnu had left the Earth, myeyes became dim and all things disappeared from my vision. O best of men,it behoveth thee to tell me what is good for me now, for I am now awanderer with an empty heart, despoiled of my kinsmen and of mypossession.

“Vyasa said, The mighty car-warriors of the Vrishni and the Andhaka raceshave all been consumed by the Brahmanas curse. O chief of Kurus race, itbehoveth thee not to grieve for their destruction. That which hashappened had been ordained. It was the destiny of those high-souledwarriors. Krishna suffered it to take place although he was fullycompetent to baffle it. Govinda was able to alter the very course of theuniverse with all its mobile and immobile creatures. What need then besaid of the curse of even high-souled Brahmanas? He who used to proceedin front of thy car, armed with discus and mace, through affection forthee, was the four-armed Vasudeva, that ancient rishi. That high-souledone of expansive eyes, Krishna, having lightened the burthen of the Earthand cast off his (human) body, has attained to his own high seat. By theealso, O foremost of men, with Bhima for thy helpmate and the twins, Omighty-armed hero, has the great work of the gods been accomplished. Oforemost one of Kurus race, I regard thee and thy brothers as crownedwith success, for ye have accomplished the great purpose of your lives.The time has come for your departure from the world. Even this, Opuissant one, is what is beneficial for you now. Even thus, understandingand prowess and foresight, O Bharata, arise when days of prosperity havenot outrun. These very acquisitions disappear when the hour of adversitycomes. All this has Time for its root. Time is, indeed, the seed of theuniverse, O Dhananjaya. It is Time, again, that withdraws everything atits pleasure. One becomes mighty, and, again, losing that might, becomesweak. One becomes a master and rules others, and, again, losing thatposition, becomes a servant for obeying the behests of others. Thyweapons, having achieved success, have gone away to the place they camefrom. They will, again, come into thy hands when the Time for theircoming approaches. The time has come, O Bharata, for you all to attain tothe highest goal. Even this is what I regard to be highly beneficial foryou all, O chief of Bharatas race.”

Vaishampayana continued: “Having heard these words of Vyasa ofimmeasurable energy, the son of Pritha, receiving his permission,returned to the city named after the elephant. Entering it, the heroapproached Yudhishthira and informed him of all that had taken place withreference to the Vrishnis.”