Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

“ And that discus blazing like the fire that burneth all things at the end of time, hurled with force from the hands of Narayana, falling constantly everywhere destroyed the Daityas and the Danavas by thousands. Sometimes it flamed like fire and consumed them all, sometimes it struck them down as it coursed through the sky; and sometimes, falling on earth, like a goblin it drank their life blood. ”

“ Therefore, O thou of mighty arms, withdraw this celestial weapon of thine. Dispel this wrath from thy heart and let the Pandavas be safe. The royal sage Yudhishthira never desires to win victory by perpetrating any sinful act. Give unto these that gem which is on thy head. Taking that, the Pandavas will in return grant thee thy life!"
Drona's son said, "This my gem is more valuable than all the wealth that has ever been earned by the Pandavas and the Kauravas. If this gem is worn, the wearer ceases to have any fear from weapons or disease or hunger! ”

“ Encountering one another, they have met with destruction.11 Thinking repeatedly of this carnage of the Yādava warriors of immeasurable energy and of the illustrious Krishna, I fail to derive peace of mind.12 The death of the wielder of Cārnga is as incredible as the drying up of the ocean, the displacement of a mountain, the falling down of the vault of heaven, or the cooling property of fire.13 Deprived of the company of the Vrishni heroes, I desire not to live in this world.14 Another incident has happened that is more painful than this, O thou that art possessed of wealth of penances! ”

“ My ancestors, afflicted with grief, have directed me engaged in the most severe penances, saying,—Marry thou for the acquisition of a son.—O ye, directed by my ancestors, I am roaming, in poverty and sorrow, over the wide world for wedding a maiden I may obtain as alms. Let that creature, amongst those I have addressed, who hath a daughter, bestow her on myself roaming on all sides! ”

“ And thus on the shores of the sea of salt-water, commenced the dreadful battle of the gods and the Asuras. And sharp-pointed javelins and lances and various weapons by thousands began to be discharged on all sides. And mangled with the discus and wounded with swords, saktis, and maces, the Asuras in large numbers vomitted blood and lay prostrate on the earth. Cut off from the trunks with sharp double edged swords, heads adorned with bright gold fell continually on the field of battle. Their bodies drenched in gore, the great Asuras lay dead everywhere. ”

“ Our acts do not become successful in consequence of destiny alone, nor of exertion alone, O best of men! Success springs from the union of the two. All purposes, high and low, are dependent on a union of those two. In the whole world, it is through these two that men are seen to act as also to abstain. What result is produced by the clouds pouring upon a mountain? What results are not produced by them pouring upon a cultivated field? Exertion, where destiny is not auspicious, and absence of exertion where destiny is auspicious, both these are fruitless! ”

“ In reality, I have been doubly defeated by the foe. They for whose sake we have incurred the sin of victory by slaying our kinsmen and friends, alas, they, after victory had crowned them, have been vanquished by defeated foes that were heedful! Alas, through heedlessness have they been slain that had escaped from even Karna, that warrior who had barbed arrows and nalikas for his teeth, the sword for his tongue, the bow for his gaping mouth, and the twang of the bowstring and the sound of palms for his roars—that angry Karna who never retreated from battle, and who was a very lion among men! ”

“ In this hour of distress, O Soul of the universe, I offer up my own self as the sacrificial victim, from devotion to thee and with heart concentrated in meditation! All creatures are in thee and thou art in all creatures! Assemblage of all high attributes occur in thee! O lord, O thou art the refuge of all creatures. I wait as a libation for thee, since I am unable to vanquish my foes. Accept me, O god!—Having said these words, Drona's son, ascending that sacrificial altar on which a fire blazed brightly, offered himself up as the victim and entered that blazing fire. ”

“ There is no one in this world who is equal to thee in prowess. It is known throughout the world how on an occasion of great calamity thou becamest at the town Varanavata the refuge of all the Parthas. When again we were seen by Hidimba, it was thou that becamest our refuge in the same way. Like Maghavat rescuing (his spouse) the daughter of Puloma, thou didst rescue my afflicted self, in Virata's city, from a great calamity. Like those great feats, O Partha, that thou didst achieve in former days, slay now, O slayer of foes, the son of Drona and be thou happy! ”

“ The valiant son of Drona, filled with rage, felled some of the warriors, cutting them in twain with his sword as if they were sesame stalks. The Earth, O bull of Bharata's race, became strewn with the fallen bodies of the foremost of men and steeds and elephants mingled together and uttering woeful wails and cries. When thousands of men had fallen down deprived of life, innumerable headless trunks stood up and fell down. Ashvatthama, O Bharata, cut off arms adorned with Angadas and holding weapons in grasp, and heads, and thighs resembling trunks of elephants, and hands, and feet. ”

“ Afflicted by Destiny, the brave warriors of the Pandava camp, recollecting the sight they had seen in their dreams, identified it with what they now witnessed. At the noise made, hundreds and thousands of Pandava bowmen in the camp awoke from their slumbers. Ashvatthama cut off the legs of some, and the hips of others, and pierced some in their flanks, careering like the Destroyer himself let loose by Time. The Earth, O lord, was soon covered with human beings that were crushed into shapelessness or trodden down by elephants and steeds and with others that roared in great affliction. ”

“ With great difficulty the king was keeping off those beasts of prey that stood in expectation of feasting upon him. He was writhing on the earth in great agony. Beholding him thus lying on the earth, bathed in his own blood, the three heroes who were the sole survivors of his army, Ashvatthama and Kripa and Kritavarma, became afflicted with grief and sat surrounding him. Encompassed by those three mighty car-warriors who were covered with blood and who breathed hot sighs, the Kuru king looked like a sacrificial altar surrounded by three fires. ”

“ Having slain those crows, the owl became filled with delight like a slayer of foes after having behaved towards his foes according to his pleasure. Beholding that highly suggestive deed perpetrated in the night by the owl, Drona's son began to reflect on it, desirous of framing his own conduct by the light of that example. He said unto himself,—This owl teaches me a lesson in battle. Bent as I am upon the destruction of the foe, the time for the deed has come! The victorious Pandavas are incapable of being slain by me! ”

“ He of the Vrishni race, O Bharata, used to boast of thee, O lord, in every assembly, saying,—Duryodhana of Kurus race is a worthy disciple of mine!—Thou hast obtained that end which great Rishis have declared to be the high reward of a kshatriya slain in battle with his face towards the foe. I do not, O bull among men, grieve for thee, O Duryodhana! I grieve only for thy mother Gandhari and thy sire, childless as they now are. Afflicted with sorrow, they will have to wander over the earth, begging their food. ”

“ Ye are the course itself of Nature and the intelligent Soul that pervades that course! Ye are birds of beauteous feathers perching on the body that is like to a tree! Ye are without the three common attributes of every soul! Ye are incomparable! Ye, through its spirit in every created thing, overspread the universe!
'Ye are golden Eagles! Ye are the essence in which all things disappear! Ye are free from error and know no deterioration! Ye are of beauteous beaks that wound not unjustly and are victorious in every encounter! Ye certainly prevail over Time! ”

“ Without doubt, Time is irresistible. Alas, having summoned thee to a fair fight, Bhimasena, putting forth his might, fractured thy thighs. Fie on that wretched Yudhishthira who tolerated the head of one unrighteously struck down in battle to be touched with the foot! In all battles warriors will certainly reprove Vrikodara as long as the world will last. Without doubt, thou hast been struck down unrighteously! The valiant Rama of Yadu's race, O king, always used to say that there is no one equal to Duryodhana in encounters with the mace. ”

“ This hero of Satvata's race is a mighty bowman, always skilled in battle. All of us, uniting together, O son, shall succeed in slaying our assembled foes in battle by putting forth our might. Great shall be our happiness then! Dispelling thy anxieties, rest for this night and sleep happily! Myself and Kritavarma, both armed with bows and capable of scorching our enemies, will, clad in mail, follow thee, O best of men, while thou shalt proceed on thy car against the enemy. Proceeding to their camp and proclaiming thy name in battle, thou shalt then make a great slaughter of the foe. ”

“ The gods assigned unto Mahadeva all the libations of clarified butter as the share of great deity. O monarch, when Mahadeva had become angry, the whole world had thus become agitated: when he became gratified everything became safe. Possessed of great energy, the god Mahadeva was gratified with Ashvatthama. It was for this that thy sons, those mighty car-warriors, could be slain by that warrior. It was for this that many other heroes, the Pancalas, with all their followers, could be slain by him. Thou shouldst not suffer thy mind to dwell on it. ”

“ We have paid off the debt we owed to our enemy. People, while talking, will not be able to censure us any longer. Having vanquished Drona's son, we have set him free for the sake of his being a brahmana and of the respect that should be shown to our deceased preceptor. His fame hath been destroyed, O goddess, only his body remains! He has been divested of his gem and on earth he has been reft of his weapons! ”

“ If I do not avenge the slaughter of my sire, how shall I open my mouth in the midst of men? Paying regard to kshatriya duties, therefore, without hesitation, I shall today walk in the steps of my high-souled sire and the king. The Pancalas, elated with victory, will trustfully sleep tonight, having put off their armour and in great glee, and filled with happiness at the thought of the victory they have won, and spent with toil and exertion. ”

“ Dhritarashtra said, "The feat, O Sanjaya, that Bhima achieved seems to be incredible, since my son who was struck down possessed the strength of 10,000 elephants. In manhood's prime and possessed of an adamantine frame, he was not capable of being slain by any creature! Alas, even that son of mine was struck down by the Pandavas in battle! Without doubt, O Sanjaya, my heart is made of adamant, since it breaks not into a 1,000 fragments even after hearing of the slaughter of my hundred sons! ”

“ Time is, indeed, the seed of the universe, O Dhananjaya! It is Time, again, that withdraws everything at its pleasure. [2] 33 One becomes a master and rules others, and, again, losing that position, becomes a servant for obeying the behests of others.34 Thy weapons, having achieved success, have gone away to the place they came from. They will, again, come into thy hands when the Time for their coming approaches.35 The time has come, O Bharata, for you all to attain to the highest goal. ”

“ Even the most intelligent by cherishing wealth and wives can never make these their own; nor are these possessions that are lasting. The Bharata uttered by the lips of Dwaipayana is without a parallel; it is the virtue itself and sacred. It destroyeth sin and produceth good. He that listeneth to it while it is being recited hath no need of a bath in the sacred waters of Pushkara. A Brahmana, whatever sins he may commit during the day through his senses, is freed from them all by reading the Bharata in the evening. ”

“ While buried in sleep, the men and animals in their camp have all been slain! Penetrating into their camp in the night, O king, I have slain Dhrishtadyumna, that wight of sinful deeds, as one kills an animal."—Duryodhana then, having heard those words that were so agreeable to his heart, regained his senses and said these words in reply:—That which neither Ganga's son, nor Karna, nor thy sire, could achieve, hath at last been achieved by thee today, accompanied by Kripa and Bhoja. ”