Chapter 59

“Sanjaya said, ‘Beholding Duryodhana felled upon the earth like agigantic Sala uprooted (by the tempest) the Pandavas became filled withjoy. The Somakas also beheld, with hair standing on end, the Kuru kingfelled upon the earth like an infuriated elephant felled by a lion.Having struck Duryodhana down, the valiant Bhimasena, approaching theKuru chief, addressed him, saying, “O wretch, formerly laughing at thedisrobed Draupadi in the midst of the assembly, thou hadst, O fool,addressed us as ‘Cow, Cow!’ Bear now the fruit of that insult!” Havingsaid these words, he touched the head of his fallen foe with his leftfoot. Indeed, he struck the head of that lion among kings with his foot.With eyes red in wrath, Bhimasena, that grinder of hostile armies, oncemore said these words. Listen to them, O monarch! “They that danced at usinsultingly, saying, ‘Cow, Cow!’ we shall now dance at them, uttering thesame words, ‘Cow, Cow!’ We have no guile, no fire, no match, at dice, nodeception! Depending upon the might of our own arms we resist and checkour foes!” Having attained to the other shores of those fiercehostilities, Vrikodara once more laughingly said these words slowly untoYudhishthira and Keshava and Srinjaya and Dhananjaya and the two sons ofMadri, “They that had dragged Draupadi, while ill, into the assembly andhad disrobed her there, behold those Dhartarashtras slain in battle bythe Pandavas through the ascetic penances of Yajnasena’s daughter! Thosewicked-hearted sons of king Dhritarashtra who had called us ‘Sesame seedswithout kernel,’ have all been slain by us with their relatives andfollowers! It matters little whether (as a consequence of those deeds) wego to heaven or fall into hell!” Once more, uplifting the mace that layon his shoulders, he struck with his left foot the head of the monarchwho was prostrate on the earth, and addressing the deceitful Duryodhana,said these words. Many of the foremost warriors among the Somakas, whowere all of righteous souls, beholding the foot of the rejoicingBhimasena of narrow heart placed upon the head of that foremost one ofKuru’s race, did not at all approve of it. While Vrikodara, after havingstruck down thy son, was thus bragging and dancing madly, kingYudhishthira addressed him, saying, “Thou hast paid off thy hostility(towards Duryodhana) and accomplished thy vow by a fair or an unfair act!Cease now, O Bhima! Do not crush his head with thy foot! Do not actsinfully! Duryodhana is a king! He is, again, thy kinsman! He is fallen!This conduct of thine, O sinless one, is not proper. Duryodhana was thelord of eleven Akshauhinis of troops. He was the king of the Kurus. Donot, O Bhima, touch a king and a kinsman with thy foot. His kinsmen areslain. His friends and counsellors are gone. His troops have beenexterminated. He has been struck down in battle. He is to be pitied inevery respect. He deserves not to be insulted, for remember that he is aking. He is ruined. His friends and kinsmen have been slain. His brothershave been killed. His sons too have been slain. His funeral cake hathbeen taken away. He is our brother. This that thou doest unto him is notproper. ‘Bhimasena is a man of righteous behaviour’: people used to saythis before of thee! Why then, O Bhimasena, dost thou insult the king inthis way?” Having said these words unto Bhimasena, Yudhishthira, withvoice choked in tears, and afflicted with grief, approached Duryodhana,that chastiser of foes, and said unto him, “O sire, thou shouldst notgive way to anger nor grieve for thyself. Without doubt thou bearest thedreadful consequences of thy own former acts. Without doubt this sad andwoeful result had been ordained by the Creator himself, that we shouldinjure thee and thou shouldst injure us, O foremost one of Kuru’s race!Through thy own fault this great calamity has come upon thee, due toavarice and pride and folly, O Bharata! Having caused thy companions andbrothers and sires and sons and grandsons and others to be all slain,thou comest now by thy own death. In consequence of thy fault, thybrothers, mighty car-warriors all, and thy kinsmen have been slain by us.I think all this to be the work of irresistible Destiny. Thou art not tobe pitied. On the other hand, thy death, O sinless one, is enviable. Itis we that deserve to be pitied in every respect, O Kaurava! We shallhave to drag on a miserable existence, reft of all our dear friends andkinsmen. Alas, how shall I behold the widows, overwhelmed with grief anddeprived of their senses by sorrow, of my brothers and sons andgrandsons! Thou, O king, departest from this world! Thou art sure to havethy residence in heaven! We, on the other hand, shall be reckoned ascreatures of hell, and shall continue to suffer the most poignant grief!The grief-afflicted wives of Dhritarashtra’s sons and grandsons, thosewidows crushed with sorrow, will without doubt, curse us all!” Havingsaid these words, Dharma’s royal son, Yudhishthira, deeply afflicted withgrief, began to breathe hard and indulge in lamentations.'”