wisdom, for thou art an ocean of virtue and duty.  While living in the enjoyment of swelling sovereignty, I beheld thee forgo female intercourse though sound of limbs and perfectly hale and though surrounded by female companions.  Except Santanu’s son Bhishma of great energy and firmly devoted to righteousness, possessed of heroism and having virtue for the only object of his pursuit, we have never heard of any other person in the three worlds that could, by his ascetic power, though lying on a bed of arrows and at the point of death, still have such a complete mastery over death (as to keep it thus at bay).  We have never heard of anybody else that was so devoted to truth, to penances, to gifts, to the performances of sacrifices, to the science of arms, to the Vedas, and to the protection of persons soliciting protection, and that was so harmless to all creatures, so pure in behaviour, so self-restrained, and so bent upon the good of all creatures, and that was also so great a car-warrior as thee.  Without doubt, thou art competent to subjugate, on a single car, the gods, Gandharvas, Asuras, Yakshas, and Rakshasas.  O mighty-armed Bhishma, thou art always spoken of by the Brahmanas as the ninth of the Vasus.  By thy virtues, however, thou hast surpassed them all and art equal unto Vasava himself.  I know, O best of persons, that thou art celebrated for thy prowess, O foremost of beings, among even the very gods.  Among men on earth, O foremost of men, we have never seen nor heard of any one possessed of such attributes as thee.  O thou of the royal order, thou surpassest the gods themselves in respect of every attribute.  By thy ascetic power thou canst create a universe of mobile and immobile creatures.  What need then be said of thy having acquired many blessed regions by means of thy foremost of virtues?  Dispel now the grief of the eldest son of Panda who is burning with sorrow on account of the slaughter of his kinsmen.  All the duties that have been declared in respect of the four orders about the four modes of life are well known to thee.  Everything again that is indicated in the four branches of knowledge, in the four Hotras, O Bharata, as also those eternal duties that are laid down in Yoga and Sankhya philosophy, the duties too of the four orders and these duties that are not inconsistent with their declared practices,—­all these, along with their interpretations, O son of Ganga, are known to thee.  The duties that have been laid down for those sprang from an intermixture of the four orders and those laid down for particular countries and tribes and families, and those declared by the Vedas and by men of wisdom, are all well known to thee.  The subjects of histories and the Puranas are all known to thee.  All the scriptures treating of duty and practice dwell in thy mind.  Save thee, O bull among men, there is no other person that can remove the doubts that may arise in respect of those subjects of knowledge that are studied in the world.  With the aid of thy intelligence, do thou, O prince of men, drive the sorrow felt by the son of Pandu.  Persons possessed of so great and such varied knowledge live only for comforting men whose minds have been stupefied.’