SECTION III
"Satyaki said, 'Even as a man's heart is, so doth he speak! Thou art
speaking in strict conformity with the nature of your heart. There are
brave men, and likewise those that are cowards. Men may be divided into
these two well defined classes. As upon a single large tree there may be
two boughs one of which beareth fruits while the other doth not, so from
the self-same line of progenitors may spring persons that are imbecile as
well as those that are endowed with great strength O you bearing the
sign of a plough on your banner, I do not, in sooth, condemn the words
thou hast spoken, but I simply condemn those, O son of Madhu, who are
listening to your words! How, indeed, can he, who unblushingly dares
attach even the slightest blame in the virtuous king Yudhishthira be
permitted to speak at all in the midst of the assembly? Persons clever in
the game of dice challenged the magnanimous Yudhishthira unskilled as he
is in play, and confiding in them he was defeated! Can such persons be
said to have virtuously won the game? If they had come to Yudhishthira
while playing in this house with his brothers and defeated him there,
then what they would have won would have been righteously won. But they
challenged Yudhishthira who was bound in conscience to follow the rules
observed by the military caste, and they won by a trick. What is there in
this conduct of theirs that is righteous? And how can this Yudhishthira
here, having performed to the utmost the stipulations entered into by way
of stakes in the play, freed from the promise of a sojourn in the forest,
and therefore entitled to his ancestral throne, humble himself? Even if
Yudhishthira coveted other people's possessions, still it would not
behove him to beg! How can they be said to be righteous and not intent on
usurping the throne when, although the Pandavas have lived out their
sojourn of concealment unrecognised, they still say that the latter had
been recognised? They were besought by Bhishma and the magnanimous Drona,
but they would not yet consent to give back to the Pandavas the throne
that belongeth to them by right of birth. The means with which I would
beseech them would be sharp arrows. I shall fight and with a strong hand
force them to prostrate themselves at the feet of the illustrious son of
Kunti. If, however, they do not bow at the feet of the wise Yudhishthira,
then they and their partisans must go to the regions of Yama. When
Yuyudhana (myself) is enraged and resolved to fight, they, to be sure,
are unequal to withstand his impetus, as mountains are unable to resist
that of the thunderbolt. Who can withstand Arjuna in fight, or him who
hath the discus for his weapon in battle, or myself as well? Who can
withstand the unapproachable Bhima? And who, having regard for his life,
would come near the twin brothers who firmly grasp their bows and
resemble the death-dealing Yama in intelligence? Who would approach
Dhrishtadyumna, the son of Drupada, or these five sons of the Pandavas
who have added lustre to Draupadi's name, rivalling their fathers in
valour, equal to them in every respect and full of martial pride, or him
of the powerful bow, Subhadra's son, irresistible by even the gods
themselves; or Gada, or Pradyumna, or Samva, resembling Yama or the
thunderbolt or fire? We shall slay Dhritarashtra's son and Sakuni and
Karna in battle, and place the Pandava on the throne. There is no sin in
slaying them that are bent on slaying us: but to be a beggar before foes
is both impious and infamous. I ask you to be diligent in doing that
which is heartily desired by Yudhishthira. Let Pandu's son get back the
kingdom resigned by Dhritarashtra! Either Yudhishthira should get back
his kingdom this very day or all our enemies shall lie down on the earth
slain by me!'
--------------------END OF PARVA 5 : UPA-PARVA 3 ---------------------
