SECTION –CCL
(Ghosha-yatra Parva Continued)
"The Danavas said, 'O Suyodhana, O great
king? O perpetuator of the race of Bharata, thou art ever surrounded by heroes
and illustrious men. Why hast thou, then, undertaken to do such a rash act as
the vow of starvation? The suicide ever sinketh into hell and becometh the
subject of calumnious speech. Nor do intelligent persons like thee ever set
their hands to acts that are sinful and opposed to their best interests and striking
at the very root of their purposes. Restrain this resolve of thine, therefore,
O king, which is destructive of morality, profit, and happiness, of fame,
prowess, and energy, and which enhanceth the joy of foes O exalted king, know
the truth, the celestial origin of thy soul, and the maker of thy body, and
then summon thou patience to thy aid. In days of old. O king, we have obtained
thee, by ascetic austerities from Maheswara. The upper part of thy body is
wholly made of an assemblage of Vajras, and is, therefore, invulnerable to
weapons of every description, O sinless one. The lower part of thy body,
capable of captivating the female heart by its comeliness was made of flowers
by the goddess herself--the wife of Mahadeva. Thy body is thus, O best of
kings, the creation of Maheswara himself and his goddess. Therefore, O tiger
among kings, thou art of celestial origin, not human. Other brave Kshatriyas of
mighty energy headed by Bhagadatta, and all acquainted with celestial weapons,
will slay thy foes. Therefore, let this grief of thine cease. Thou hast no
cause for fear. For aiding thee, many heroic Danavas have been born on the
earth. Other Asuras will also possess Bhishma and Drona and Kama and others.
Possessed by those Asuras, these heroes will cast away their kindness and fight
with thy foes. Indeed, when the Danavas will enter their heart and possess them
completely, flinging all affections to a distance, becoming hard-hearted, these
warriors will strike every body opposed to them in battle without sparing sons,
brothers, fathers, friends, disciples, relatives, even children and old men.
Blinded by ignorance and wrath, and impelled by that destiny which hath been
ordained by the Creator, these tigers among men, with hearts steeped in sin,
will, O thou foremost of the Kurus, depopulate the earth by hurling and
shooting all kinds of weapons, with great manliness and strength and always
addressing one another boastfully with words such as these, 'Thou shall not
escape from me today with life.' And these illustrious sons of Pandu also, five
in number, will fight with these.
And, endued with mighty strength and favoured by
Fate, they will compass the destruction of these. And, O king, many Daityas and
Rakshasas also that have been born in the Kshatriya order, will fight with
great prowess in the battle with thy foes, using maces and clubs and lances and
various weapons of a superior kind. And, O hero, with respect to the fear that
is in thy heart rising from Arjuna, we have already settled the means for
slaying Arjuna. The soul of the slain Naraka hath assumed the form of Karna.
Recollecting his former hostility he will encounter both Kesava and Arjuna. And
that mighty warrior and foremost of smiters, proud of his prowess will vanquish
Arjuna in battle as also all thy enemies. The wielder of the thunder-bolt,
knowing all this, and desirous of saving Arjuna, will in disguise take away
from Karna his ear-rings and coat of mail. We also have for that reason
appointed hundreds upon hundreds and thousands upon thousands of Daityas and
Rakshasas, viz., those that are known by the name of Samsaptakas. 1 These
celebrated warriors will slay the heroic Arjuna. Therefore, grieve not, O king.
Thou wilt rule the whole earth, O monarch, without a rival. Do not yield to
despondency. Conduct such as this does not suit thee. O thou of the Kuru race,
if thou diest, our party becometh weak. Go thou, O hero, and let not thy mind
be directed to any other course of action. Thou art ever our refuge as, indeed,
the Pandavas are the refuge of the gods.'
Vaisampayana continued, "Having addressed
him thus, those Daityas embraced that elephant among kings, and those bulls
among the Danavas cheered that irrepressible one like a son. And, O Bharata,
pacifying his mind by soft speech, they permitted him to depart, saying, 'Go
and attain victory!' And when they had given leave to the mighty-armed one,
that very goddess carried him back to the spot where he had sat down, intent
upon putting an end to his life. And having set that hero down and paid him
homage, the goddess vanished, taking the king's permission. O Bharata, when she
had gone, king Duryodhana considered all (that had happened) as a dream. He
then thought within himself, 'I shall defeat the Pandavas in battle.' And
Suyodhana thought that Karna and the Samsaptaka army were both able (to
destroy) and intent upon destroying that slayer of foes, Partha. Thus, O bull
of the Bharata race, the hope was strengthened of the wicked minded son of
Dhritarashtra, of conquering the Pandavas. And Karna also, his soul and
faculties possessed by the inmost soul of Naraka, had at that time cruelly
determined to slay Arjuna. And those heroes--the Samsaptakas also--having their
sense possessed by the Rakshasas, and influenced by the qualities of emotion
and darkness, were desirous of slaying Phalguna. And, O king, others with
Bhishma, Drona, and Kripa at their head, having their faculties influenced by
the Danavas, were not so affectionate towards the sons of Pandu as they had
been. But king Suyodhana did not tell anyone of this.
"When the night passed away, Karna, that
offspring of the Sun, with joined hands, smilingly addressed these wise words
to king Duryodhana, 'No dead man conquereth his foes: it is when he is alive
that he can see his good. Where is the good of the dead person; and, O
Kauraveya, where is his victory? Therefore, this is no time for grief, or fear
or death.' And having, with his arms embraced that mighty-armed one, he further
said, 'Rise up, O king! Why dost thou lie down? Why dost thou grieve, O slayer
of foes? Having afflicted thy enemies by thy prowess, why dost thou wish for
death? Or (perhaps) fear hath possessed thee at the sight of Arjuna's prowess.
I truly promise unto thee that I will slay Arjuna in battle. O lord of men, I
swear by my weapon that when the three and ten years shall have passed away, I
will bring the sons of Pritha under thy subjection.' Thus addressed by Karna,
and remembering the words of the Daityas and supplications made by them (his
brothers), Suyodhana rose up. And having heard those words of the Daityas that
tiger among men, with a firm resolve in his heart arrayed his army, abounding
in horses and elephants and cars and infantry. And, O monarch, immensely
swarming with white umbrellas, and pennons, and white Chamaras, and cars, and
elephants, and foot-soldiers, that mighty army, as it moved like the waters of
the Ganga, looked graceful like the firmament, at a season when the clouds have
dispersed and the signs of autumn have been but partially developed. And, O foremost
of kings, eulogised like a monarch by the best of the Brahmanas blessing with
victory, that lord of men Suyodhana, Dhritarashtra's son, receiving honours
paid with innumerable joined palms, and flaming in exceeding splendour, went in
the front, accompanied by Karna, and that gambler, the son of Suvala. And all
his brothers with Dussasana at their head, and Bhurisrava, and Somadatta, and
the mighty king Vahlika, followed that lion among kings on his way, with cars
of various forms, and horses, and the best of elephants. And, O prime among
monarchs, in a short time, those perpetuators of the Kuru race entered their
own city."
Footnotes
499:1 Lit, Soldiers that have sworn to conquer or
die. A full Akshauhini of these soldiers was owned by Krishna, who gave them to
Duryodhana to fight for him. The story of Krishna's offering to Duryodhana the
choice between these soldiers on the one side, and himself sworn not to fight
but only to aid with his counsels on the other, is given in full in the Udyoga
Parva. Duryodhana, from folly, accepted the former, who were all slain by
Arjuna.
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