Chapter 4

Kripa said, “By good luck, O thou of unfading glory, thy heart is settoday on vengeance. The wielder of the thunder himself will not succeedin dissuading thee today. Both of us, however, shall accompany thee inthe morning. Putting off thy armour and taking down thy standard, takerest for this night. I shall accompany thee, as also Kritavarma of theSatvata race, clad in mail and riding on our cars, while thou shaltproceed against the foe. United with ourselves, thou shalt slay the foes,the Pancalas with all their followers, tomorrow in press of battle,putting forth thy prowess, O foremost of car-warriors! If thou puttestforth thy prowess, thou art quite competent to achieve that fear! Takerest, therefore, for this night. Thou hast kept thyself awake for many anight. Having rested and slept, and having become quite refreshed, Ogiver of honours, encounter the foe in battle! Thou shalt then slay theenemy, without doubt. No one, not even Vasava amongst the gods, wouldventure to vanquish thee armed with foremost of weapons, O first ofcar-warriors! Who is there that would, even if he be the chief of thegods himself, fight Drona’s son, when the latter proceeds, accompanied byKripa and protected by Kritavarma? Therefore, having rested and sleptthis night and shaken off fatigue, we shall slay the foe tomorrowmorning! Thou art a master of celestial weapons. I also am so, withoutdoubt. This hero of Satvata’s race is a mighty bowman, always skilled inbattle. All of us, uniting together, O son, shall succeed in slaying ourassembled foes in battle by putting forth our might. Great shall be ourhappiness then! Dispelling thy anxieties, rest for this night and sleephappily! Myself and Kritavarma, both armed with bows and capable ofscorching our enemies, will, clad in mail, follow thee, O best of men,while thou shalt proceed on thy car against the enemy. Proceeding totheir camp and proclaiming thy name in battle, thou shalt then make agreat slaughter of the foe. Tomorrow morning, in broad daylight, havingcaused a great slaughter among them thou shalt sport like Shakra afterthe slaughter of great asuras. Thou art quite competent to vanquish thearmy of the Pancalas in battle like the slayer of the danavas invanquishing in rage the danava host. United with myself in battle andprotected by Kritavarma, thou art incapable of being withstood by thewielder of the thunderbolt himself.

Neither I, O son, nor Kritavarma, will ever retreat from battle withouthaving vanquished the Pandavas! Having slain the angry Pancalas alongwith the Pandavas, we shall come away, or slain by them, we shall proceedto heaven. By every means in our power, we two shall render theeassistance in battle tomorrow morning. O thou of mighty arms, I tell theethe truth, O sinless one!”

Addressed in these beneficial words by his maternal uncle, the son ofDrona, with eyes red in rage, answered his uncle, O king, saying, Wherecan a person that is afflicted, or one that is under the influence ofrage, or one whose heart is always engaged in revolving projects for theacquisition of wealth, or one that is under the power of lust, obtainsleep? Behold, all these four causes are present in my case. Anyone ofthese, singly would destroy sleep. How great is the grief of that personwhose heart is always thinking of the slaughter of his sire! My heart isnow burning day and night. I fail to obtain peace. The way in which mysire in particular was slain by those sinful wretches hath been witnessedby you all. The thought of that slaughter is cutting all my vitals. Howcould a person like me live for even a moment after hearing the Pancalassay that they have slain my father? I cannot bear the thought ofsupporting life without having slain Dhrishtadyumna in battle. Inconsequence of the slaughter of my father he hath become slayable by me,as also all with whom he is united. Who is there so hard-hearted thatwould not burn after having heard the lamentations that I have heard ofthe king lying with broken thighs? Who is there so destitute ofcompassion whose eyes would not be filled with tears after hearing suchwords uttered by the king with broken thighs? They whose side was adoptedby me have been vanquished. The thought of this enhances my sorrow as arush of waters enhances the sea.

Protected as they are by Vasudeva and Arjuna, I regard them, O uncle, tobe irresistible by the great Indra himself. I am unable to restrain thisrising wrath in my heart. I do not behold the man in this world that canassuage this wrath of mine! The messengers informed me of the defeat ofmy friends and the victory of the Pandavas. That is burning my heart.Having however, caused a slaughter of my enemies during their sleep, Ishall then take rest and shall then sleep without anxiety.”