is also endued with patience, capable of keeping his
counsels, compassionate, modest, of powers incapable
of being baffled, possessed of great learning, with
soul under proper control, ever waiting upon the aged,
and subdued senses; possessed thus of every accomplishment,
he is like unto a blazing fire. What fool, doomed
to destruction and deprived of sense, will jump, moth-like,
into that blazing and irresistible Pandava fire!
Alas, I have behaved deceitfully towards him.
The king, like unto a fire of long flames, will destroy
all my foolish sons in battle without leaving any
alive. I, therefore, think that it is not proper
to fight with them. Ye Kauravas, be ye of the
same mind. Without doubt, the whole race of Kuru
will be destroyed, in case of hostilities being waged.
This appears to me very clearly, and if we act accordingly,
my mind may have peace. If war with them doth
not seem beneficial to you, then we will strive to
bring about peace. Yudhishthira will never be
indifferent when he sees us distressed, for he censures
me only as the cause of this unjust war.’”
“Sanjaya said, It is even so, O great king,
as thou, O Bharata, sayest. On the event of battle,
the destruction of the Kshatriyas by means of Gandiva
is certain. This, however, I do not understand,
how when thou art always wise and especially acquainted
with the prowess of Savyasachin, thou followest yet
the counsels of thy sons. Having O bull of the
Bharata race, injured the sons of Pritha from the
very beginning, having in fact, committed sins repeatedly,
this is not, O great king, the time (to grieve).
He that occupies the position of a father and a friend,
if he is always watchful and of good heart, should
seek the welfare (of his children); but he that injures,
cannot be called a father. Hearing of the defeat
of the Pandavas at dice, thou hadst, O king, laughed
like a child, saying, ‘This is won, this is
acquired!’ When the harshest speeches were addressed
to the sons of Pritha, thou didst not then interfere,
pleased at the prospect of thy sons winning the whole
kingdom. Thou couldst not however, then see before
thee inevitable fall. The country of the Kurus,
including the region called Jangala is, O king, thy
paternal kingdom. Thou hast, however, obtained
the whole earth by those heroes. Won by the strength
of their arms, the sons of Pritha made over thee this
extensive empire. Thou thinkest, however, O best
of kings, that all this was acquired by thee.
When thy sons, seized by the king of the Gandharvas,
were about to sink in a shoreless sea without a raft
to save them, it was Partha, O king, that brought
them back. Thou hadst, like a child, repeatedly
laughed, O monarch, at the Pandavas when they were
defeated at dice and were going into exile. When
Arjuna poureth a shower of keen arrows, the very oceans
dry up, let alone beings of flesh and blood.
Falguna is the foremost of all shooters; Gandiva is
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