SECTION 65
"Sanjaya said, 'Having heard of Duryodhana's fall from the messengers,
those mighty car-warriors, the unslain remnant of the Kaurava army,
exceedingly wounded with keen shafts, and maces and lances and darts,
those three, Ashvatthama and Kripa and Kritavarma of the Satwata race,
came quickly on their fleet steeds to the field of battle. They beheld
there the high-souled son of Dhritarashtra prostrate on the ground like a
gigantic Sala tree laid low in the forest by a tempest. They beheld him
writhing on the bare ground and covered with blood even like a mighty
elephant in the forest laid low by a hunter. They saw him weltering in
agony and bathed in profuse streams of blood. Indeed, they saw him lying
on the ground like the sun dropped on the earth or like the ocean dried
by a mighty wind, or like the full Moon in the firmament with his disc
shrouded by a fog. Equal to an elephant in prowess and possessed of long
arms, the king lay on the earth, covered with dust. Around him were many
terrible creatures and carnivorous animals like wealth-coveting
dependants around a monarch in state. His forehead was contracted into
furrows of rage and his eyes were rolling in wrath. They beheld the king,
that tiger among men, full of rage, like a tiger struck down (by
hunters). Those great archers Kripa and others, beholding the monarch
laid low on the Earth, became stupefied. Alighting from their cars, they
ran towards the king. Seeing Duryodhana, all of them sat on the earth
around him. Then Drona's son, O monarch, with tearful eyes and breathing
like a snake, said these words unto that chief of Bharata's race, that
foremost of all the kings on earth, "Truly, there is nothing stable in
the world of men, since thou, O tiger among men, liest on the bare earth,
stained with dust! Thou wert a king who had laid your commands on the
whole Earth! Why then, O foremost of monarchs, dost you lie alone on the
bare ground in such a lonely wilderness? I do not see Duhshasana beside
thee, nor the great car-warrior Karna, nor those friends of thine
numbering in hundreds! What is this, O bull among men? Without doubt, it
is difficult to learn the ways of Yama, since thou, O lord of all the
worlds, thus liest on the bare ground, stained with dust! Alas, this
scorcher of foes used to walk at the head of all Kshatriyas that had
their locks sprinkled with holy water at ceremonies of coronation! Alas,
he now eateth the dust! Behold the reverses that Time bringeth on its
course! Where is that pure white umbrella of thine? Where is that fanning
yak-tail also, O king? Where hath that vast army of yours now gone, O
best of monarchs? The course of events is certainly a mystery when causes
other than those relied upon are at book, since even you that wert the
master of the world hast been reduced to this plight! Without doubt, the
prosperity of all mortals is very unstable, since you that wert equal
unto Shakra himself hast now been reduced to such a sorry plight!"
Hearing these words of the sorrowing Ashvatthama, your son answered him in
these words that were suited to the occasion. He wiped his eyes with his
hands and shed tears of grief anew. The king then addressed all those
heroes headed by Kripa and said, "This liability to death (of all living
creatures) is said to have been ordained by the Creator himself. Death
comes to all beings in course of time. That death hath now come to me,
before the eyes of you all! I who reigned over the whole earth have now
been reduced to this plight! By good luck, I never turned back from
battle whatever calamities overtook me. By good luck, I have been slain
by those sinful men, by the aid particularly of deception. By good luck,
while engaged in hostilities, I always displayed courage and
perseverance. By good luck, I am slain in battle, along with all my
kinsmen and friends. By good luck, I behold you escaped with life from
this great slaughter, and safe and sound. This is highly agreeable to me.
Do not, from affection, grieve for my death. If the Vedas are any
authority, I have certainly acquired many eternal regions! I am not
ignorant of the glory of Krishna of immeasurable energy. He hath not
caused me to fall off from the proper observance of Kshatriya duties. I
have obtained him. On no account should anybody grieve from me. Ye have
done what persons like the should do. Ye have always striven for my
success. Destiny, however, is incapable of being frustrated." Having said
this much, the king, with eyes laved with tears, became silent, O
monarch, agitated as he was with agony. Beholding the king in tears and
grief, Drona's son flamed up in anger like the fire that is seen at the
universal destruction. Overwhelmed with rage, he squeezed his hand and
addressing the king in a voice hoarse with tears, he said these words,
"My sire was slain by those wretches with a cruel contrivance. That act,
however, doth not burn me so keenly as this plight to which you hast
been reduced, O king! Listen to these words of mine that I utter,
swearing by Truth itself, O lord, and by all my acts of piety, all my
gifts, my religion, and the religious merits I have won. I shall today,
in the very presence of Vasudeva, despatch all the Pancalas, by all means
in my power, to the abode of Yama? It behoveth thee, O monarch, to grant
me permission!" Hearing these words of Drona's son, that were highly
agreeable to his heart, the Kuru king addressing Kripa, said, "O
preceptor, bring me without delay a pot full of water!" At these words of
the king, that foremost of Brahmanas soon brought a vessel full of water
and approached the king. Thy son then, O monarch, said unto Kripa, "Let
the son of Drona, O foremost of Brahmanas, (blessed be thou), be at my
command installed as generalissimo, if you wishest to do me the good! At
the command of the king, even a Brahmana may fight, specially one that
has adopted Kshatriya practices! Those learned in the scriptures say
this!" Hearing these words of the king, Kripa, the son of Saradwat,
installed Drona's son as generalissimo, at the king's command! The
installation over, O monarch, Ashvatthama embraced that best of kings and
left the spot, having caused the ten points to resound with his leonine
roars. That foremost of kings, Duryodhana, profusely covered with blood,
began to pass there that night so frightful to all creatures. Wending
away quickly from the field of battle, O king, those heroes, with hearts
agitated by grief, began to reflect anxiously and earnestly.'"
The End of Shalya-parv
