Chapter 137

“Kunti said, ‘Say unto Arjuna, these words, when thou wert brought forthin the lying-in room and when I was sitting in the hermitage surroundedby ladies, a celestial and delightful voice was heard in the sky, saying,’O Kunti, this thy son will rival the deity of a thousand eyes. This onewill vanquish in battle all the assembled Kurus. Aided by Bhima, he willconquer the whole Earth and his fame will touch the very heavens. WithVasudeva as his ally, he will slay the Kurus in battle and recover hislost paternal share in the kingdom. Endued with great prosperity, hewill, with his brothers, perform three great sacrifices.’ O thou ofunfading glory, thou knowest how steady, in truth, is Vibhatsu, otherwisecalled Savyasachin, how irresistible he is. O thou of Dasarha’s race, letit be as that (celestial) voice said. If, O thou of Vrishni’s race, thereis anything like righteousness, those words will be true, for then,Krishna, thou wilt thyself accomplish it all. I do not doubt what thatvoice said. I bow to righteousness which is superior to all. It isrighteousness that supports all creatures. Thou shalt say these wordsunto Dhananjaya. Unto Vrikodara again, who is always ready for exertion,thou shalt say these words, ‘The time hath come for that in view of whichKshatriya lady bringeth forth a son! They that are foremost among mennever become cheerless when they have hostilities to wage–Thou knowestwhat the state of Bhima’s mind is. That grinder of foes is never pacifieduntil he exterminates his foes. Thou shalt, O Madhava, next say unto theauspicious Krishna of great fame, that daughter-in-law of the high-souledPandu, who is conversant with the details of every virtue, these words,’O thou that art highly blessed, O thou of noble parentage, O thou thatart endued with great fame, that becoming behaviour which thou alwaysshowest towards my sons is, indeed, worthy of thee.’ Thou must also sayunto the sons of Madri who are always devoted to Kshatriya virtues, thesewords, ‘Covet ye more than life itself, those enjoyments that areacquired by prowess. Objects won by prowess always please the heart of aperson that liveth according to Kshatriya practices. Engaged as ye are inacquiring every kind of virtue, before your eyes the princess of Panchalawas addressed in cruel and abusive epithets. Who is there that canforgive that insult? The deprivation of their kingdom grieved me not.Their defeat at dice grieved me not. But that noble and fair Draupadi,however, while weeping in the midst of the assembly, had to hear thosecruel and insulting words is what grieveth me most. Alas, exceedinglybeautiful Krishna, ever devoted to Kshatriya virtues, found no protectoron that occasion, though she was wedded to such powerful protectors. Othou of mighty arms, say unto that tiger among men, Arjuna, that foremostof all wielders of weapons, that he should always tread in the path thatmay be pointed out by Draupadi. Thou knowest it very well, Kesava, thatBhima and Arjuna,–that pair of fierce and all-destroying Yamas, arecapable of making the very gods go the way of all creatures. Is not thisan insult to them that (their wife) Krishna was dragged into theassembly? O Kesava, recall to their remembrance all those cruel and harshwords that Dussasana said unto Bhima in the very presence of all thewarriors of Kuru’s race. Enquire (in my name) after the welfare of thePandavas with their children and Krishna. Say unto them, O Janardana,that I am well. Go thou on thy auspicious way, and protect my sons!’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Saluting and walking round her, themighty-armed Krishna whose gait resembled the majestic gait of the lion,then issued out of Pritha’s abode. And he then dismissed those chiefsamong the Kurus with Bhishma at their head (who had followed him), andtaking Karna upon his chariot, left (the Kuru city), accompanied bySatyaki. And after he of Dasarha’s race had departed, the Kurus assembledtogether and began to talk of that highly wonderful and marvellousincident connected with him. And they said, ‘Overcome with ignorance, thewhole earth hath been entangled in the meshes of death!’ And they alsosaid, ‘Through Duryodhana’s folly, all this is doomed to destruction.’

‘Having issued out of the (Kuru) city, that foremost of personsproceeded, deliberating with Karna for a long time. And that delighter ofall the Yadavas then dismissed Karna and urged his steeds to greaterspeed. And driven by Daruka, those swift coursers endued with the speedof the tempest of the mind, went on as if drinking the skies. And quicklytraversing a long way like fleet hawks, they reached Upaplavya very soon,bearing the wielder of Saranga.'”