SECTION 2
Vaishampayana said, "After the ladies had been dismissed, Dhritarashtra,
the son of Ambika, plunged into grief greater than that which had
afflicted him before, began, O monarch, to indulge in lamentations,
exhaling breaths that resembled smoke, and repeatedly waving his arms,
and reflecting a little, O monarch, he said these words.
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Alas, O Suta, the intelligence is fraught with
great grief that I hear from thee, that the Pandavas are all safe and
have suffered no loss in battle. Without doubt, my hard heart is made of
the essence of thunder, since it breaketh not upon hearing of the fall of
my sons. Thinking of their ages, O Sanjaya, and of their sports in
childhood, and learning today that all of them have perished, my heart
seems to break into pieces. Although in consequence of my blindness I
never saw their forms, still I cherished a great love for them in
consequence of the affection one feels for his children. Hearing that
they had passed out of childhood and entered the period of youth and then
of early manhood, I became exceedingly glad, O sinless one. Hearing today
that have been slain and divested of prosperity and energy, I fail to
obtain peace of mind, being overwhelmed with grief on account of the
distress that has overtaken them. Come, come, O king of kings
(Duryodhana) to me that am without a protector now! Deprived of thee, O
mighty-armed one, what will be my plight? Why, O sire, abandoning all the
assembled kings dost you lie on the bare ground, deprived of life, like
an ordinary and wretched king? Having been, O monarch, the refuge of
kinsmen and friends, where dost you go now, O hero, abandoning me that
am blind and old? Where now, O king, is that compassion of thine, that
love, and that respectfulness? Invincible as you wert in battle, how,
alas, hast you been slain by the Parthas? Who will now, after I will
have waked from sleep at the proper hour, repeatedly address me in such
endearing and respectful words as, "O father, O father," "O great king,"
"O Lord of the world" and affectionately clasping my neck with moistened
eyes, will seek my orders, saying, "Command me, O you of Kuru's race."
Address me, O son, in that sweet language once more. O dear child, I
heard even these words from your lips, "This wide earth is as much ours as
it is of Pritha's son. Bhagadatta and Kripa and Shalya and the two
princes of Avanti and Jayadratha and Bhurishrava and Sala and Somadatta
and Bahlika and Ashvatthama and the chief of the Bhojas and the mighty
prince of Magadha and Vrihadvala and the ruler of the Kasi and Shakuni
the son of Subala and many thousands of Mlecchas and Sakas and Yavanas,
and Sudakshina the ruler of the Kambojas and the king of the Trigartas
and the grandsire Bhishma and Bharadwaja's son and Gotama's son (Kripa)
and Srutayush and Ayutayush and Satayush of great energy, and Jalasandha
and Rishyasringa's son and the Rakshasa Alayudha, and the mighty-armed
Alambusa and the great car-warrior Subala--these and numerous other
kings, O best of monarchs, have taken up arms for my sake, prepared to
cast away their very lives in great battle, stationed on the field amidst
these, and surrounded by my brothers, I will fight against all the
Parthas and the Pancalas and the Cedis, O tiger among kings, and the sons
of Draupadi and Satyaki and Kunti-Bhoja and the rakshasa Ghatotkaca. Even
one amongst these, O king, excited with rage, is able to resist in battle
the Pandavas rushing towards him. What need I say then of all these
heroes, every one of whom has wrong to avenge on the Pandavas, when
united together? All these, O monarch, will fight with the followers of
the Pandavas and will slay them in battle. Karna alone, with myself, will
slay the Pandavas. All the heroic kings will then live under my sway. He,
who is their leader, the mighty Vasudeva, will not, he has told me, put
on mail for them, O king." Even in this way, O Suta, did Duryodhana often
use to speak to me. Hearing what he said, I believed that the Pandavas
would be slain in battle. When, however, my sons stationed in the midst
of those heroes and exerting themselves vigorously in battle have all
been slain, what can it be but destiny? When that lord of the world, the
valiant Bhishma, having encountered Shikhandi, met with his death like a
lion meeting with his at the hands of a jackal, what can it be but
destiny? When the Brahmana Drona, that master of all weapons offensive
and defensive, has been slain by the Pandavas in battle, what can it be
but destiny? When Bhurishrava has been slain in battle, as also Somadatta
and king Bahlika, what can it be but destiny? When Bhagadatta, skilled in
fight from the backs of elephants, has been slain, and when Jayadratha
hath been slain, what can it be but destiny? When Sudakshina has been
slain, and Jalasandha of Puru's race, as also Srutayush, and Ayutayush,
what can it be but destiny? When the mighty Pandya, that foremost of all
wielders of weapons, has been slain in battle by the Pandavas, what can
it be but destiny? When Vrihadvala has been slain and the mighty king of
the Magadhas, and the valiant Ugrayudha, that type of all bowmen; when
the two princes of Avanti (Vinda and Anuvinda) have been slain, and the
ruler also of the Trigartas, as also numerous Samsaptakas, what can it be
but destiny? When king Alambusa, and the Rakshasas Alayudha, and
Rishyasringa's son, have been slain, what can it be but destiny? When the
Narayanas have been slain, as also the Gopalas, those troops that were
invincible in battle, and many thousands of Mlecchas, what can it be but
destiny? When Shakuni, the son of Subala, and the mighty Uluka, called
the gamester's son, that hero at the head of his forces, have been slain,
what can it be but destiny? When innumerable high-souled heroes,
accomplished in all kinds of weapons offensive and defensive and endued
with prowess equal to that of Shakra himself, have been slain, O Suta,
when Kshatriyas hailing from diverse realms, O Sanjaya, have all been
slain in battle, what can it be but destiny? Endued with great might, my
sons and grandsons have been slain, as also my friends and brethren, what
can it be but destiny? Without doubt, man takes his birth, subject to
destiny. That man who is possessed of good fortune meets with good. I am
bereft of good fortune, and, therefore, am deprived of my children, O
Sanjaya. Old as I am, how shall I now submit to the sway of enemies? I do
not think anything other than exile into the woods to be good for me, O
lord. Deprived of relatives and kinsmen as I am, I will go into the
woods. Nothing other than an exile into the woods can be better for me
who am fallen into this plight and who am shorn of my wings, O Sanjaya.
When Duryodhana had been slain, when Shalya has been slain, when
Duhshasana and Vivingsati and the mighty Vikarna have been slain, how
shall I be able to bear the roars of that Bhimasena who hath alone slain
a hundred sons of mine in battle? He will frequently speak of the
slaughter of Duryodhana in my hearing. Burning with grief and sorrow, I
shall not be able to bear his cruel words.'"
Vaishampayana continued, "Even thus that king, burning with grief and
deprived of relatives and kinsmen, repeatedly swooned, overwhelmed with
sorrow on account of the death of his sons. Having wept for a long while,
Dhritarashtra, the son of Ambika, breathed heavy and hot sighs at the
thought of his defeat. Overwhelmed with sorrow, and burning with grief,
that bull of Bharata's race once more enquired of his charioteer Sanjaya,
the son of Gavalgana, the details of what had happened.
"Dhritarashtra said, 'After Bhishma and Drona had been slain, and the
Suta's son also overthrown, whom did my warriors make their
generalissimo? The Pandavas are slaying without any delay everyone whom
my warriors are making their generalissimo in battle. Bhishma was slain
at the van of battle by the diadem-decked Arjuna in the very sight of all
of you. Even thus was Drona slain in the sight of all of you. Even thus
was the Suta's son, that valiant Karna, slain by Arjuna in the sight of
all the kings. Long before, the high-souled Vidura had told me that
through the fault of Duryodhana the population of the Earth would be
exterminated. There are some fools that do not see things even though
they cast their eyes on them. Those words of Vidura have been even so
unto my foolish self. What Vidura of righteous soul, conversant with
attributes of everything, then said, hath turned out exactly, for the
words he uttered were nothing but the truth. Afflicted by fate, I did not
then act according to those words. The fruits of that evil course have
now manifested themselves. Describe them to me, O son of Gavalgana, once
more! Who became the head of our army after Karna's fall? Who was that
car-warrior who proceeded against Arjuna and Vasudeva? Who were they that
protected the right wheel of the ruler of the Madras in battle? Who
protected the left wheel of that hero when he went to battle? Who also
guarded his rear? How, when all of you were together, could the mighty
king of the Madras, as also my son, be slain, O Sanjaya, by the Pandavas?
Tell me the details of the great destruction of the Bharatas. Tell me how
my son Duryodhana fell in battle. Tell me how all the Pancalas with their
followers, and Dhrishtadyumna and Shikhandi and the five sons of
Draupadi, fell. Tell me how the (five) Pandavas and the two Satwatas
(Krishna and Satyaki), and Kripa and Kritavarma and Drona's son, have
escaped with life. I desire to hear everything about the manner in which
the battle occurred and the kind of battle it was. Thou are skilled, O
Sanjaya, in narration. Tell me everything.'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 9 : UPA-PARVA 2 ---------------------
