SECTION 71
"Sanjaya said, 'Having heard these joyful words of king Yudhishthira,
Govinda of virtuous soul, that delighter of the Yadus, then addressed
Partha. The latter, however, having at the instance of Krishna addressed
those words unto Yudhishthira, became exceedingly cheerless for having
committed a trivial sin. Then Vasudeva, smiling, said unto the son of
Pandu, "What would have been your condition, O Partha, if, observant of
virtue you had slain the son of Dharma with your sharp sword? Having
only addressed the king as thou, such cheerlessness hath possessed thy
heart. If you had slain the king, O Partha, what wouldst you have
done after that? Morality is so inscrutable, especially by persons of
foolish understanding. Without doubt great grief would have been yours in
consequence of your fear of sin. Thou wouldst have sunk also in terrible
hell in consequence of the slaughter of your brother. Gratify now this
king of virtuous behaviour, this foremost of all practisers of virtue,
this chief of Kuru's race. Even this is my wish. Gratifying the king with
devotion, and after Yudhishthira will have been made happy, we two will
proceed against the car of the Suta's son for fighting him. Slaying Karna
today with your keen shafts in battle, do thou, O giver of honours, give
great happiness to Dharma's son. Even this, O mighty-armed one, is what I
think to be suitable to this hour. Having done this, your purpose will be
achieved." Then Arjuna, O monarch, in shame, touched king Yudhishthira's
feet with his head. And he repeatedly said unto that chief of the
Bharatas, "Be pleased with me, Forgive, O king, all that I have said from
desire of observing virtue and from fear of sins.'"
"Sanjaya said, 'Beholding Dhananjaya, that slayer of foes, lying weeping
at his feet, O bull of Bharata's race, king Yudhishthira the just raised
his brother. And king Yudhishthira, that lord of the earth, then embraced
his brother affectionately and wept aloud. The two brothers, of great
splendour, having wept for a long while, at last became freed from grief,
O monarch, and as cheerful as before. Then embracing him once more with
affection and smelling his head, the son of Pandu, exceedingly gratified,
applauded his brother Jaya and said, "O you of mighty arms, in the very
sight of all the troops, my armour, standard, bow, dart, steeds, and
arrows, were cut off in battle, O great bowman, by Karna with his shafts,
although I exerted myself with care. Thinking of and seeing his feats in
battle, O Phalguna, I lose my energies in grief. Life itself is no longer
dear to me. If you dost not slay that hero in battle today, I will cast
away my life breaths. What use have I with life?" Thus addressed, Vijaya,
replied, O bull of Bharata's race, saying, "I swear by Truth, O king, and
by your grace, by Bhima, O best of men, and by the twins, O lord of the
earth, that today I shall slay Karna, in battle, or, being myself slain
by him fall down on the earth. Swearing truly, I touch my weapons."
Having said these words unto the king, he addressed Madhava, saying,
"Without doubt, O Krishna, I will slay Karna in battle today. Aided by
thy intelligence, blessed be thou, the slaughter of that wicked-souled
one is certain." Thus addressed, Keshava, O best of kings, said unto
Partha, "Thou are competent, O best of the Bharatas, to slay the mighty
Karna. Even this hath ever been my thought, O mighty car-warrior, as to
how, O best of men thou, wouldst slay Karna in battle." Endued with great
intelligence, Madhava once more addressed the son of Dharma, saying, "O
Yudhishthira, it behoveth you to comfort Vibhatsu, and command him to
slaughter Karna of wicked soul. Having heard that you had been
afflicted with shafts of Karna, myself and this one came hither, O son of
Pandu, for ascertaining your plight. By good luck, O king, you wert not
slain. By good luck you wert not seized. Comfort your Vibhatsu, and bless
him, O sinless one, with your wishes for his victory.'"
"'Yudhishthira said, "Come, Come, O Partha, O Vibhatsu, and embrace me, O
son of Pandu. Thou hast told me beneficial words that deserved to be
said, and I have forgiven thee. I command thee, O Dhananjaya, go and slay
Karna. Do not, O Partha, be angry for the harsh words I said unto thee.'"
"Sanjaya continued, 'Then Dhananjaya, O king, bowed unto Yudhishthira by
bending his head, and seized with his two hands, O sire, the feet of his
eldest brother. Raising him and embracing him closely, the king smelt his
head and once more said these words unto him, "O Dhananjaya, O you of
mighty arms, I have been greatly honoured by thee. Do you ever win
greatness and victory.'"
"'Arjuna said, "Approaching Radha's son today that is proud of his might,
I shall slay that man of sinful deeds with my shafts in battle, along
with all his kinsmen and followers. He who, having bent the bow strongly,
afflicted you with his shafts, I say, that Karna, will obtain today the
bitter fruit of that act of his. Having slain Karna, O lord of the earth,
I shall today come back from the dreadful battle to pay you my respects
by walking behind thee. I tell you this truly. Without having slain
Karna I shall not come back today from the great battle. Truly do I swear
this by touching your feet, O lord of the universe.'"
"Sanjaya continued, 'Unto the diadem-decked (Arjuna) who was speaking in
that way, Yudhishthira, with a cheerful heart, said these words of grave
import, "Do you obtain imperishable fame, and such a period of life as
accordeth with your own desire, and victory, and energy, and the
destruction of your foes. Let the gods grant you prosperity. Obtain thou
all these to the measure desired by me. Go quickly to battle, and slay
Karna, even as Purandara slew Vritra for his own aggrandisement."'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 8 : UPA-PARVA 71 ---------------------
