The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 2,393 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2.

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 2,393 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2.
Indeed, overwhelmed with grief, the monarch addressed Bhima.  And these were the words, O king, that Yudhishthira the son of Kunti then said unto him, ’O Bhima, I do not behold the standard of that Arjuna, who on a single car had vanquished all the gods, the Gandharvas and Asuras!’ Then Bhimasena, addressing king Yudhishthira the Just who was in that plight, said, ’Never before did I see, or hear thy ’Words afflicted with such cheerlessness.  Indeed, formerly, when we were smitten with grief, it was thou who hadst been our comforter.  Rise, Rise, O king of kings, say what I am to do for thee.  O giver of honours, there is nothing that I cannot do.  Tell me what your commands are, O foremost one of Kuru’s race!  Do not set your heart on grief.’  Unto Bhimasena then, the king with a sorrowful face and with eyes bathed in tears, said, sighing the while like a black cobra, ’The blasts of the conch Panchajanya, wrathfully blown by Vasudeva of world-wide renown, are being heard.  It seems, from this, that thy brother Dhananjaya lieth today on the field, deprived of life.  Without doubt, Arjuna having been slain, Janardana is fighting.  That hero of great might, relying on whose prowess the Pandavas are alive, he to whom we always turn in times of fear like the celestials towards their chief of a thousand eyes, that hero hath, in search after the ruler of Sindhus, penetrated into the Bharata host.  I know this, O Bhima, viz., that he hath gone, but he hath not yet returned.  Dark in complexion, youthful in years, of curly locks, exceedingly handsome mighty car-warrior, of broad chest and long arms, possessed of the tread of an infuriated elephant, of eyes of the colour of burnished copper and like those a chakra, that brother of thine enhances the fears of foes.  Blessed be thou, even this is the cause of my grief, O chastiser of foes!  For Arjuna’s sake, O thou of mighty arms, as also for the sake of Satwata, my grief increaseth like a blazing fire fed with libations of clarified butter.  I do not see his standard.  For this am I stupefied with sorrow.  Without doubt, he hath been slain, and Krishna, skilled in battle, is fighting.  Know also that the tiger among men, that mighty car-warrior, Satwata is slain.  Alas!  Satyaki hath followed in the wake of that other mighty car-warrior, with thy brother.  Without seeing Satyaki also, I am stupefied by grief.  Therefore, O son of Kunti, go thither, where Dhananjaya is and Satyaki also of mighty energy, if, of course, thou thinkest it thy duty to obey my words, O thou that art acquainted with duty.’  Remember that I am thy eldest brother.  Thou shouldst think Satyaki to be dearer to thee than Arjuna himself.  O son of Pritha, Satyaki hath gone, from desire of doing good to me, in the track of Arjuna, a track that is incapable of being trod by persons of vile souls.  Beholding the two Krishnas and Satyaki also of the Satwata race sound and whole, send me a message, O son of Pandu, by uttering a leonine roar.’”

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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.