Chapter 61

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Hearing these words of his father, the passionateson of Dhritarashtra inflamed with great wrath, again said these words,of envy, of ‘Thou thinkest the Parthas having the celestials for theirallies, are incapable of being vanquished. Let this thy fear, O best ofkings, be dispelled. The gods attained to their divinity for absence ofdesire, covetousness, and of enmity, as also for their indifference toall worldly affairs. Formerly, Dwaipayana-Vyasa and Narada of greatascetic austerities, and Rama, the son of Jamadagni, told us this. Thegods never like human beings engage in work, O bull of the Bharata race,from desire, or wrath, or covetousness, or envy. Indeed, if Agni, orVayu, or Dharma, or Indra, or the Aswins had ever engaged themselves inworks from worldly desire, then the sons of Pritha could never havefallen into distress. Do not, therefore, by any means, indulge in suchanxiety, because the gods, O Bharata, always set their eyes on affairsworthy of themselves. If, however, envy or lust become noticeable in thegods in consequence of their yielding to desire, then, according to whathas been ordained by the gods themselves, such envy or Just can neverprevail. Charmed by me, Agni will be instantly extinguished, even if heblazes up all around for consuming all creatures. The energy with whichthe gods are endued is, indeed, great, but know, O Bharata, that mine isgreater than that of the gods. If the Earth herself cleaves in twain, ormountain crests split, I can re-unite them, O king, by my incantationsbefore the eyes of all. If for the destruction of this universe ofanimate and inanimate, mobile and immobile creatures, there happeneth aterrific tempest or stony shower of loud roar, I can always, fromcompassion for created beings, stop it before the eyes of all. When thewaters are solidified by me, even cars and infantry can move over them.It is I who set agoing all the affairs of both gods and Asuras. Untowhatever countries I go with my Akshauhinis on any mission, my steedsmove whithersoever I desire. Within my dominions there are no fearfulsnakes, and protected by my incantations, creatures within my territoriesare never injured by others that are frightful. The very clouds, O king,pour, as regards those dwelling in my dominions, showers as much as theydesire and when they desire. All my subjects, again, are devoted toreligion and are never subject to calamities of season. The Aswins, Vayu,Agni, Indra with the Maruts, and Dharma will not venture to protect myfoes. If these had been able to protect by their might my adversaries,never would the sons of Pritha have fallen into such distress for threeand ten years. I tell thee truly that neither gods, nor Gandharvas norAsuras nor Rakshasas are capable of saving him who hath incurred mydispleasure; I have never before been baffled as regards the reward topunishment that I intended to bestow or inflict on friend or foe. Ifever, O repressor of foes, I said this is to be,–that hath always been.People, therefore, have always known me as a speaker of truth. Allpersons can bear witness to my greatness, the fame of which hath spreadall around. I mention this, O king, for thy information and not frompride. Never had I, O king, praised myself before, for to praise one’sown self is mean. Thou wilt hear of defeat of the Pandavas and theMatsyas, the Panchalas and the Kekayas, of Satyaki and Vasudeva, at myhands. Indeed, as rivers, on entering the ocean, are entirely lost in it,so the Pandavas with all their followers, on approaching me, will all beannihilated. My intelligence is superior, my energy is superior, myprowess is superior, my knowledge is superior, my resources are superiorby far to those of the Pandavas. Whatever knowledge of weapons is in theGrandsire, in Drona, and Kripa, and Salya, and Shalya, exist in me aswell.

‘Having said these words, O Bharata, Duryodhana, that repressor of foes,again asked Sanjaya, in order to ascertain the proceedings ofYudhishthira bent upon war.'”