Chapter 33

“Sanjaya said, ‘Whilst Duryodhana, O king, was repeatedly roaring in thisstrain, Vasudeva, filled with wrath, said these words unto Yudhishthira,”What rash words hast thou spoken, O king, to the effect, ‘Slaying oneamongst us be thou king among the Kurus.’ If, indeed, O Yudhishthira,Duryodhana select thee for battle, or Arjuna, or Nakula, or Sahadeva(what will be the consequence)? From desire of slaying Bhimasena, O king,for these thirteen years hath Duryodhana practised with the mace upon astatue of iron! How then, O bull of Bharata’s race, will our purpose beachieved? From compassion, O best of kings, thou hast acted with greatrashness! I do not at this moment behold a match (for Duryodhana) exceptPritha’s son Vrikodara! His practice, again, with the mace, is not sogreat! Thou hast, therefore, once more allowed a wretched game of chanceto commence as that one in former days between thyself and Shakuni, Omonarch! Bhima is possessed of might and prowess. King Suyodhana,however, is possessed of skill! In a contest between might and skill, hethat is possessed of skill, O king, always prevails! Such a foe, O king,thou hast, by thy words, placed in a position of ease and comfort! Thouhast placed thine own self, however, in a position of difficulty. Wehave, in consequence of this, been placed in great danger! Who is therethat would abandon sovereignty within grasp, after having vanquished allhis foes and when he hath only one foe to dispose of and that one plungedin difficulties? I do not see that man in the world today, be he a god,who is competent to vanquish the mace-armed Duryodhana in battle! Neitherthou nor Bhima, nor Nakula nor Sahadeva, nor Phalguna, is capable ofvanquishing Duryodhana in fair fight! King Duryodhana is possessed ofgreat skill! How then, O Bharata, canst thou say unto such a foe wordssuch as these, ‘Fight, selecting the mace as thy weapon, and if thoucanst slay one amongst us, thou shalt then be king?’ If Duryodhanaencounters Vrikodara amongst us wishing to fight fairly with him, eventhen our victory would be doubtful. Duryodhana is possessed of greatmight and great skill. How couldst thou say unto him, ‘Slaying only oneamongst us be thou king’? Without a doubt, the offspring of Pandu andKunti are not destined to enjoy sovereignty! They were born for passingtheir lives in continued exile in the woods or in mendicancy!”

“‘Bhimasena said, “O slayer of Madhu, do not, O delighter of the Yadus,give way to sorrow! However, difficult to reach it, I shall today reachthe end of these hostilities! Without doubt, I shall slay Suyodhana inbattle! It appears, O Krishna, that the victory of Yudhishthira the justis certain! This mace of mine is heavier than Duryodhana’s by one and ahalf times! Do not, O Madhava, give way to grief! I dare fight him,selecting the mace as the weapon! Let all of you, O Janardana, stand asspectators of the encounter! What do you say of Suyodhana, I would fightwith the three worlds including the very gods, even if they be armed withevery kind of weapon!”‘

“Sanjaya continued, ‘After Vrikodara had said these words, Vasudeva,filled with joy, applauded him highly and said unto him, “Relying onthee, O thou of mighty arms, king Yudhishthira the just will, withoutdoubt, get back his own blazing prosperity after the slaughter of all hisfoes! Thou hast slain all the sons of Dhritarashtra in battle! At thyhands many kings and princes and elephants have met with their fate! TheKalingas, the Magadhas, the Kauravas the Westerners, the Gandharas haveall been slain in dreadful battle, O son of Pandu! Slaying Duryodhanathen, O son of Kunti, bestow the earth with her oceans upon Yudhishthirathe just, like Vishnu (conferring the sovereignty of three worlds) uponthe Lord of Sachi! The wretched son of Dhritarashtra, obtaining thee fora foe in battle, will, without doubt, meet with his fate! Thou wiltcertainly accomplish thy vow by breaking his bones! Thou shouldst,however, O son of Pritha, always fight with care with the son ofDhritarashtra! He is possessed of both skill and strength and alwaystakes delight in battle!” Then Satyaki, O king, applauded the son ofPandu. The Pancalas and the Pandavas, also, headed by king Yudhishthirathe just, all applauded those words of Bhimasena. Then Bhima of terriblemight addressed Yudhishthira, who was staying amid the Srinjayas like theblazing sun himself, saying, “Encountering this one in battle, I ventureto fight with him! This wretch among men is not competent to vanquish mein fight! Today I shall vomit that wrath which hath been nursed in mybosom upon Suyodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra, like Arjuna throwing fireon the forest of Khandava! I shall today pluck out the dart, O son ofPandu, that lay so long sticking to thy heart! Be happy, O king, after Ishall have laid low this wretch with my mace! Today I shall recover, Osinless one, thy wreath of glory! Today Suyodhana shall abandon his lifebreath, his prosperity, and his kingdom! Today king Dhritarashtra also,hearing of his son’s slaughter, will remember all those wrongs (that hedid unto us) arising from the suggestions of Shakuni!” Having said thesewords that prince of Bharata’s race, possessed of great energy, stood upfor battle, like Shakra summoning Vritra (to an encounter). Unable toendure that summons, thy son, of great energy, proceeded to theencounter, like one infuriated elephant proceeding to assail another. ThePandavas beheld thy son, as he came armed with mace, look like thecrested mountain of Kailasa. Indeed, seeing that mighty son of thinestanding alone like a prince of elephants separated from the herd, thePandavas became filled with delight. Standing in battle like a very lion,Duryodhana had no fear, no alarm, no pain, no anxiety. Beholding himstand there with uplifted mace like the crested mountain of Kailasa,Bhimasena, O monarch, addressed him, saying, “Call to thy mind all thosewrongs that king Dhritarashtra and thyself have done unto us! Recollectwhat happened at Varanavata! Recollect how Draupadi, while in her season,was maltreated in the midst of the assembly and how king Yudhishthira wasdefeated at dice through Shakuni’s suggestion! See now, O thou of wickedsoul, the terrible consequence of those acts as also of the other wrongsthat thou didst unto the innocent Parthas! It is for thee that thatillustrious chief of the Bharatas, the son of Ganga, the grandsire of usall, lieth now on a bed of arrows, struck down (by us)! Drona also hathbeen slain! Karna hath been slain! Shalya of great valour hath beenslain! Yonder Shakuni also, the root of these hostilities, hath beenslain in battle! Thy heroic brothers, as also thy sons, with all thytroops, have been slain! Other kings also, possessed of heroism, andnever retreating from battle, have been slain. These and many other bullsamong Kshatriyas, as also the Pratikamin, that wretch who had seized thetresses of Draupadi, have been slain! Thou alone art still alive, thouexterminator of thy race, thou wretch among men! Thee also I shall todayslay with my mace! Of this there is no doubt! Today, O king, I shall, inbattle, quell all thy pride! I shall destroy also thy hope ofsovereignty, O king, and pay off all thy misdeeds unto the sons of Pandu!”

“‘Duryodhana said, “What use is there of many words? Fight now with me!Today, O Vrikodara, I shall beat out of thee thy desire for battle! Whydost thou not behold me, O wretch, standing here for an encounter withthe mace? Am I not armed with a formidable mace that looks like a cliffof Himavat? What foe is there, O wretch, that would venture to vanquishme armed with this weapon? If it be a fair fight, Purandara himself,amongst the gods, is not competent for that end! For all those wickeddeeds of mine to which thou hast referred, thou couldst not (hitherto) dome the slightest injury! By exercising my might, I caused ye to dwell inthe woods, to serve in another’s dwelling, to conceal yourselves indisguises! Your friends and allies also have been slain. Our loss hasbeen equal! If, then my fall takes place in this battle, that would behighly praiseworthy. Or, perhaps, Time will be the cause! Up to this dayI have never been vanquished in fair fight on the field of battle! If youvanquish me by deceit, your infamy will certainly last for ever! That actof yours will, without doubt, be unrighteous and infamous! Do not, O sonof Kunti, roar fruitlessly in this way like autumnal clouds unchargedwith water! Show all the strength thou hast in battle now!” Hearing thesewords of his, the Pandavas with the Srinjayas, all inspired with desireof victory, applauded them highly. Like men exciting an infuriatedelephant with clapping of hands, all of them then gladdened kingDuryodhana (with those praises and cheers). The elephants that were therebegan to grunt and the steeds to neigh repeatedly. The weapons of thePandavas, who were inspired with desire of victory blazed forth of theirown accord.'”