Pandava king. Impelled by the desire of slaughtering
his rival, the mighty Duryodhana, O tiger among men,
is pursuing him, accompanied by his brothers, the
touch of whose weapons is as fatal as that of poisonous
snakes and who are all conversant with every mode
of warfare. Those Dhartarashtra elephants and
horses and car-warriors and foot-soldiers are advancing
to seize Yudhishthira like poor men after a precious
gem. Behold, checked by Satyaki and Bhima, they
have again been stupefied, like the Daityas, that
desired to take away the Amrita, made motionless by
Sakra and Agni. The mighty car-warriors (of the
Kuru army), however, in consequence of the vastness
of their numbers, are again proceeding towards Yudhishthira
like a vast quantity of water in the season of rains
rushing towards the ocean. Those mighty bowmen
are uttering leonine roars, blowing their conchs,
and shaking their bows. I regard Kunti’s
son Yudhishthira, thus brought under the influence
of Duryodhana, to be already within the jaws of Death
or already poured as a libation on the sacrificial
fire. The army of Dhritarashtra’s son,
O Pandava, is arrayed and equipped duly. Sakra
himself, coming within the range of its arrows, can
scarcely escape. Who will in battle bear the
impetuosity of the heroic Duryodhana who shoots showers
of arrows with the greatest celerity and who, when
angry, resembles the Destroyer himself? The force
of the heroic Duryodhana’s shafts, or Drona’s
son’s or Kripa’s or Karna’s would
break down the very mountains. That scorcher
of foes, viz., king Yudhishthira, was once compelled
by Karna to turn his back upon the field. The
son of Radha is endued with great might and great
lightness of hand. Possessed of great skill,
he is accomplished in battle. He is competent
to afflict the eldest son of Pandu in fight, specially
when he is united with the mighty and brave son of
Dhritarashtra. Of rigid vows, when the son of
Pritha (Yudhishthira) had been engaged in battle with
all those warriors, other great car-warriors had struck
him and contributed to his defeat. The king,
O best of the Bharatas, is exceedingly emaciated in
consequence of his fasts. He is endued with Brahma-force,
but the puissant one is not endued with much of Kshatriya-might.
Assailed, however, by Karna, the royal son of Pandu,
Yudhishthira, that scorcher of foes, hath been placed
in a situation of great peril. I think, O Partha,
that king Yudhishthira has fallen. Indeed, since
that chastiser of foes, the wrathful Bhimasena, coolly
heareth the leonine roars of the frequently shouting
Dhartarashtra’s longing for victory and blowing
their conchs, I think, O bull among men, that Pandu’s
son Yudhishthira is dead. Yonder Karna urges
forward the mighty car-warriors of the Dhartarashtras
towards the son of Pritha with the weapons called
Sthunakarna, Indrasjaha and Pasupata, and with clubs
and other weapons. The king, O Bharata, must be
deeply afflicted and exceedingly weakened, because


