Chapter 15
“Yudhishthira said, ‘O illustrious Vasudeva of mighty arms, tell thou indetail of the death of the lord of Saubha. My curiosity hath not beenappeased by the narration.’
“Yudhishthira said, ‘O illustrious Vasudeva of mighty arms, tell thou indetail of the death of the lord of Saubha. My curiosity hath not beenappeased by the narration.’
“Sanjaya said, ‘That foremost of car-warriors, O monarch, thy son, ridingon his car and filled with the courage of despair, looked resplendent inthat battle like Rudra himself of great valour.
“Yudhishthira said, ‘Tell me, O grand-sire, what regions are earned byunreturning heroes by encountering death in battle.”
“Yudhishthira said, ‘Tell me, O grandsire, what is that which is the mostsacred of all sacred things in the world, other than that which has beenalready mentioned, and which is the highest of all sanctifying objects.’
“Bhishma said, ‘Then, O great king, during the night, having bowed untothe Brahmanas, the Rishis, the gods, and all those creatures that wanderduring the dark, and also all the kings of the earth,
“Dhritarashtra said, When such was the condition of battle, between thoseheroes of their side and mine, what did Bhima then do? Tell me all, OSanjaya!’
“Yudhishthira said, ‘O Krishna, why wert thou absent (from the Anarttacountry)? And, O descendant of the Vrishni race, while thou wert away,where didst thou dwell? And what didst thou do while out of thy kingdom?’
“Sanjaya said, ‘After the heroic Salwa, that ornament of assemblies, hadbeen slain, thy army speedily broke like a mighty tree broken by theforce of the tempest.
“Bhishma said, ‘In this connection is cited the old story of the battlebetween Pratardana and the ruler of Mithila.
“Vasishtha said, ‘Kine are yielders of ghee and milk. They are thesources of ghee and they have sprung from ghee. They are rivers of ghee,and eddies of ghee.