SECTION LVII
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Whom hast thou, O Sanjaya, seen to have, from
affection, arrived there, and who will, on behalf of the Pandavas, fight
my son's forces?'
"Sanjaya said, 'I have seen Krishna, the foremost of the Andhakas and the
Vrishnis, arrived there, and Chekitana, as also Satyaki, otherwise called
Yuyudhana. And those two mighty car-warriors, proud of their strength and
famed over all the world, have joined the Pandavas, each with a separate
Akshauhini of troops. And Drupada, the king of the Panchalas, surrounded
by his ten heroic sons--Satyajit and others--headed by Dhrishtadyumna,
and well-protected by Sikhandin, and having furnished his soldiers with
every necessary thing, hath come there with a full Akshauhini, desirous
of honouring Yudhishthira. And that lord of earth, Virata, with his two
sons Sankha and Uttara, as also with those heroes Suryadatta and
others--headed by Madiraksha and surrounded by one Akshauhini of troops,
hath thus accompanied by brothers and sons, joined the son of Pritha. And
the son of Jarasandha, the king of Magadha, and Dhrishtaketu, the king of
the Chedis, have separately come there, each accompanied by an Akshauhini
of troops. And the five brothers of Kekaya, all having purple flags, have
joined the Pandavas, surrounded by an Akshauhini of troops. Then
numbering to this extent, have I seen assembled there, and these, on
behalf of the Pandavas, will encounter the Dhartarashtra host. That great
car-warrior, Dhrishtadyumna, who is acquainted with human, celestial,
Gandharva and Asura arrays of battle, leadeth that host. O king, Bhishma,
the son of Santanu, has been assigned to Sikhandin as his share; and
Virata with all his Matsya warriors will support Sikhandin. The mighty
king of the Madras hath been assigned to the eldest son of Pandu as his
share, though some are of opinion that those two are not well-matched.
Duryodhana with his sons and his ninety-nine brothers, as also the rulers
of the east and the south, have been assigned to Bhimasena as his share.
Karna, the son of Vikartana, and Jayadratha the king of the Sindhus, have
been assigned to Arjuna as his share. And those heroes also on the earth
who are incapable of being withstood and who are proud of their might,
have been accepted by Arjuna as his share. And those mighty bowmen, the
five royal brothers of Kekaya, will put forth their strength in battle,
accepting the Kekaya warriors (on Dhritarashtra's side) as antagonists.
And in their share are included the Malavas also, and the Salwakas, as
also, the two famous warriors of the Trigarta host who have sworn to
conquer or die. And all the sons of Duryodhana and Dussasana, as also
king Vrihadvala, have been assigned to Subhadra's son as his share. And
those great bowmen, the sons of Draupadi, having cars furnished with
gold-embroidered banners, all headed by Dhrishtadyumna, will, O Bharata,
advance against Drona. And Chekitana on his car desireth to encounter
Somadatta in single combat with him, while Satyaki is anxious to battle
against the Bhoja chief, Kritavarman. And the heroic son of Madri,
Sahadeva, who setteth up terrible roars in battle, hath intended to take
as his share your brother-in-law, the son of Suvala. And Nakula also, the
son of Madravati, hath intended to take as his share the deceitful Uluka
and the tribes of the Saraswatas. As for all the other kings of the
earth, O Monarch, who will go to battle, the sons of Pandu have, by
naming them, distributed them in their own respective shares. Thus hath
the Pandava host been distributed into divisions. Do you now, without
delay, with your sons, act as you thinkest best.'
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Alas, all my foolish sons, addicted to deceitful
dice, are already dead when it is the mighty Bhima with whom they desire
to encounter in the field of battle. All the kings of the earth too,
consecrated by Death himself for sacrifice, will rush to the Gandiva,
like so many moths into fire. Methinks my host is already put to flight
by those illustrious warriors formerly injured by me. Who, indeed, shall
follow to battle my warriors, whose ranks will be broken by the sons of
Pandu in the encounter? All of them are mighty car-warriors, possessed of
great bravery, of famous achievements, endued with great prowess, equal
unto the fiery sun in energy, and all victorious in battle. Those that
have Yudhishthira for their leader, the slayer of Madhu for their
protector, the heroic Savyasachin and Vrikodara for their warriors, and
Nakula, and Sahadeva, and Dhrishtadyumna, the son of Prishata, and
Satyaki, and Drupada, and Dhrishtaketu with his son, and Uttamaujas, and
the unconquerable Yudhamanyu of the Panchalas, and Sikhandin, and
Kshatradeva, and Uttara, the son of Virata, and Kasayas, the Chedis, the
Matsyas, the Srinjayas, Vabhru the son of Virata, the Panchalas, and the
Prabhadrakas, for fighting for them, those, indeed, from whom Indra
himself cannot, if they are unwilling, snatch this earth,--those heroes,
cool and steady, in fight, who can split the very mountains--alas, it is
with them that are endued with every virtue and possessed of superhuman
prowess that this wicked son of mine, O Sanjaya, desireth to fight,
disregarding me even though I am crying myself hoarse!'
"Duryodhana said, 'Both the Pandavas and ourselves are of the same race;
both they and we tread upon the same earth, why dost you think that
victory will declare itself for only the Pandavas? Bhishma, Drona, Kripa,
the unconquerable Karna, Jayadratha, Somadatta, and Aswatthaman-all
mighty bowmen and endued with great energy,--are incapable of being
vanquished by Indra himself united with the celestials. What sayst thou
then, O father of the Pandavas? Ali these noble and heroic kings of the
earth, bearing weapons, O father, are quite capable, for my sake, of
withstanding the Pandavas, while the latter are not capable of even
gazing at my troops. I am powerful enough to encounter in battle the
Pandavas with their sons. O Bharata, all those rulers of the earth, who
are anxious for my welfare, will certainly seize all the Pandavas like a
herd of young deer by means of net. I tell thee, in consequence of our
crowds of cars and snares of arrows, the Panchalas and the Pandavas will
all be routed.'
"Dhritarashtra said, 'O Sanjaya, this my son speaketh like a mad man, for
he is incapable of vanquishing in battle Yudhishthira the just. This
Bhishma truly knoweth the might of the famous, powerful, virtuous, and
high-souled Pandavas and their sons, for he doth not wish a battle with
those illustrious ones. But tell me again O Sanjaya, of their movements.
Tell me, who are inciting those illustrious and mighty bowmen endued with
great activity, like priests enkindling (Homa) fires with libations of
clarified butter?'
"Sanjaya said, 'O Bharata, Dhrishtadyumna is always urging the Pandavas
to war, saying, 'Fight ye, best among the Bharatas. Do not entertain the
least fear. All those rulers of the earth, who, courted by
Dhritarashtra's son, will become in that fierce encounter target of
showers of weapons,--indeed, I alone will encounter all those angry kings
assembled together with their relatives, like a whale seizing little
fishes from the water. Bhishma and Drona and Kripa and Karna and Drona's
son and Salya and Suyodhana,--them all I withstand, like the bank
resisting the swelling sea.' Unto him saying thus, the virtuous king
Yudhishthira said, 'The Panchalas and the Pandavas wholly depend upon thy
prowess and steadiness. Rescue us safely from the war. I know, O
mighty-armed one, that you are firm in the duties of the Kshatriya
order. Thou art, indeed, quite competent to smite alone the Kauravas.
When the latter, eager for fight, will stand before us, what thou, O
repressor of foes, wilt arrange, will certainly be for our good. Even
this is the opinion of those acquainted with the scriptures, that the
hero, who, displaying his prowess, relieth those that after the rout run
away from the battle-field, seeking for protection, is to be bought with
a thousand. Thou, O bull among men, are brave, mighty, and powerful.
Without doubt, you are that deliverer of those that are over-powered
with fear on the field of battle.' And when the righteous Yudhishthira
the son of Kunti said this, Dhrishtadyumna fearlessly addressed me in
these words, 'Go thou, O Suta, without delay, and say unto all those that
have come to fight for Duryodhana, say unto the Kurus of the Pratipa
dynasty with the Vahlikas, the son of Saradwata and Karna and Drona, and
Drona's son, and Jayadratha, and Dussasana, and Vikarna and king
Duryodhana, and Bhishma,--Do not suffer yourselves to be slain by Arjuna,
who is protected by the celestials. Before that happens, let some good
man approach Yudhishthira and entreat that son of Pandu, that best of
men, to accept the kingdom (surrendered by them) without delay. There is
no warrior on the earth like unto Savyasachin, son of Pandu, of prowess
incapable of being baffled. The celestial car of the holder of Gandiva is
protected by the very gods. He is incapable of being vanquished by human
beings. Do not, therefore, bend your mind to war!'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 5 : UPA-PARVA 57 ---------------------
