SECTION 40
"Sanjaya said, 'Thus rebuked by Shalya of immeasurable energy, the son of
Radha, feeling the propriety of his rebuker's name in consequence of his
wordy darts, and becoming filled with rage, answered him thus:
"'Karna said, "The merits of meritorious men, O Shalya, are known to them
that are themselves meritorious but not to them that are destitute of
merit. Thou, however, are destitute of every merit. How then canst thou
judge of merit and demerit? The mighty weapons of Arjuna, his wrath, his
energy, his bow, his shafts and the prowess also of that high-souled hero
are, O Shalya, well known to me. So also, O Shalya, you dost not know,
so as well as I myself, the greatness of Krishna, that bull among the
lords of Earth. But knowing my own energy as also that of Pandu's son, I
challenge him to battle, O Shalya, I do not act like an insect in respect
of a blazing fire. I have this shaft, O Shalya, of keen mouth,
blood-drinking, lying alone within one quiver, equipped with wings,
well-steeped in oil and well-adorned. It lieth amid sandal dust,
worshipped by me for long years. Partaking of the nature and form of a
snake, it is poisonous and fierce and capable of killing large numbers of
men and steeds and elephants of terrible form, and exceedingly awful, it
is capable of piercing coats of mail and bones. Inspired with wrath, I
may pierce even the mighty mountains of Meru with it. That shaft I will
never shoot at any other person save Phalguna or Krishna, the son of
Devaki. In this I tell you the truth. Listen to it. With that shaft, O
Shalya, I will, inspired with rage, fight with Vasudeva and Dhananjaya.
That would be a feat worthy of me. Of all the heroes in the Vrishni race,
it is Krishna in whom Prosperity is always established. Among all the
sons of Pandu, it is Partha in whom Victory is always established. Those
two tigers among men, stationed together on the same car, will advance
against my single self for battle. Thou shalt, O Shalya, behold today the
nobility of my lineage. Those two cousins, one of whom is the son of the
aunt and the other the son of the maternal uncle, those two invincible
warriors, you shalt see, will be slain by me (with one shaft) and will
look like two pearls strung together in the same string. Arjuna's gandiva
and the ape-bearing banner, and Krishna's discus and the Garuda-bearing
banner, inspire with fear only those that are timid. To me, however, O
Shalya, they are causes of delight. Thou are a fool, of evil disposition,
and unskilled in the ways of great battle. Overcome with terror, thou
utterest these ravings. Or, you are praising them for some reason not
known to me. Having slain those two first, I shall then slay you today
with all your kinsmen. Born in a sinful country you are wicked-souled and
mean, and a wretch amongst kshatriyas. Being a friend, why dost thou,
like an enemy, frighten me with these praises of the two Krishnas? Either
they two will slay me today or I will slay them two. Knowing as I do my
own might, I do not cherish any fear of the two Krishnas. A 1,000
Vasudevas and hundreds of Phalgunas, I shall, single-handed, slay. Hold
thy tongue, O you that are born in a sinful country. Hear from me, O
Shalya, the sayings, already passed into proverbs, that men, young and
old, and women, and persons arrived in course of their listless
wanderings, generally utter, as if those sayings formed part of their
studies, about the wicked Madrakas. brahmanas also duly narrated the same
things formerly in the courts of kings. Listening to those sayings
attentively, O fool, you mayst forgive or rejoin. The Madraka is always
a hater of friends. He that hateth us is a Madraka. There is no
friendship in the Madraka who is mean in speech and is the lowest of
mankind. The Madraka is always a person of wicked soul, is always
untruthful and crooked. It hath been heard by us that till the moment of
death the Madrakas are wicked. (Amongst the Madrakas) the sire, the son,
the mother, the mother-in-law, the brother, the grand-son, and other
kinsmen, companions, strangers arrived at their homes, slaves male and
female, mingle together. The women of the Madrakas mingle, at their own
will, with men known and unknown. Of unrighteous conduct, and subsisting
upon fried and powdered corn and fish, in their homes, they laugh and cry
having drunk spirits and eaten beef. They sing incoherent songs and
mingle lustfully with one another, indulging the while in the freest
speeches. How then can virtue have a place amongst the Madrakas who are
arrogant and notorious for all kinds of evil acts? No one should make
friends with a Madraka or provoke hostilities with him. In the Madraka
land there is no friendship. The Madraka is always the dirt of humanity.
Amongst the Madrakas all acts of friendship are lost as purity amongst
the Gandharakas and the libations poured in a sacrifice in which the king
is himself the sacrificer and priest. Then again, it is truly seen that
wise men treat a person bit by a scorpion and affected by its poison,
even with these words: 'As a brahmana that assists at the religious
ceremonies of a Shudra suffereth degradation, as one that hateth
brahmanas always suffereth degradation, even so a person by making an
alliance with the Madrakas becometh fallen. As there is no friendship in
the Madraka, so, O scorpion, your poison is nought.' With these mantras of
the Atharvan I have duly performed the rite of exorcism. Knowing this, O
learned one, hold your tongue, or listen to something further that I will
say. Those women that, intoxicated by spirits, cast off their robes and
dance, those women that are not attached (to particular individuals) in
the matter of intercourse and that they do as they please without owning
any restrictions, I say, that being as you are the child of one of those
women, how canst thou, O Madraka, be a fit person for declaring the
duties of men? Those women that live and answer calls of nature like
camels and asses, being as you are the child of one of those sinful and
shameless creatures, how canst you wish to declare the duties of men?
When a Madraka woman is solicited for the gift of a little quantity of
vinegar, she scratches her hips and without being desirous of giving it,
says these cruel words, 'Let no man ask any vinegar of me that is so dear
to me. I would give him my son, I would give him my husband, but vinegar
I would not give.' The young Madraka maidens, we hear, are generally very
shameless and hairy and gluttonous and impure. These and many other
things of a like nature, in respect of all their acts, from the crown of
their heads to the tip of their toes, are capable of being asserted of
them by myself and others. How, indeed, would the Madrakas and the
Sindhu-Sauviras know anything of duty, being born, as they are, in a
sinful country, being mlecchas in their practices, and being totally
regardless of all duties? It hath been heard by us that even this is the
highest duty of a kshatriya, viz., that slain in battle, he should lie
down on the Earth, applauded by the righteous. That I should lay down (my
life) in this clash of arms is my foremost wish, desirous as I am of
heaven through Death. I am also the dear friend of the intelligent son of
Dhritarashtra. For his sake are my life-breaths and whatever wealth I
have! As regards thyself, O you that are born in a sinful country, it is
evident that you hast been tampered with by the Pandavas, since thou
behavest towards us in everything like a foe. Like a righteous man that
is incapable of being led astray by atheists, surely I am incapable of
being dissuaded from this battle by hundreds of persons like thee. Like a
deer, covered with sweat, you are at liberty to weep or thirst.
Observant as I am of the duties of a kshatriya, I am incapable of being
frightened by thee. I recall to my mind the end, declared unto me in past
times by my preceptor Rama, of those lions among men, those unreturning
heroes, that laid down their lives in battle. Prepared for rescuing the
Kauravas and slaying our foes, know that I am now determined to imitate
the excellent behaviour of Pururavas. I do not, O ruler of the Madrakas,
behold the person in the three worlds that can, I think, dissuade me from
this purpose. Forbear to speak, knowing all this. Why dost you rave in
such a way from fear? O wretch amongst the Madrakas, I shall not now slay
thee and present your carcase as an offering to carnivorous creatures.
From regard for a friend, O Shalya, for the sake of Dhritarashtra's son,
and for avoiding blame, for these three reasons, you still livest. If, O
ruler of the Madras, you speakest such words again, I shall then crush
thy head with my mace that is as hard as the thunder. People will today
see or hear, O you that are born in a sinful country, either that the
two Krishnas have slain Karna or that Karna has slain the two Krishnas."
Having said these words, the son of Radha, O monarch, once more addressed
the king of the Madras, fearlessly saying, "Proceed, proceed.'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 8 : UPA-PARVA 40 ---------------------
