The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 2,886 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3.

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 2,886 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3.

“Sanjaya continued, ’Hearing these words of poignant grief the illustrious Yudhishthira addressed thy son Duryodhana who was still within those waters, saying, “Do not utter such ravings of sorrow, O sire, from within the waters!  I do not, like Shakuni, feel any compassion for thee, O king, for such words as these!  Thou mayest now, O Suyodhana, be willing to make a gift of the earth to me.  I, however, do not wish to rule the earth thus given by thee!  I cannot sinfully accept this earth from thee!  Acceptance of a gift, O king, is not the duty laid down for a Kshatriya!  I do not, therefore, wish to have the wide earth thus given away by thee!  I shall, on the other hand, enjoy the earth after vanquishing thee in battle!  Thou art now the lord of the earth!  Why then dost thou desire to make a gift of that over which thou hast no dominion?  Why, O king, didst thou not then give us the earth when we, observant of the rules of righteousness and desirous of the welfare of our race, had begged thee for our portion?  Having first refused the request of the mighty Krishna, why dost thou now desire to give away the earth?  What is this folly of thine?  What king is there, who, assailed by foes, would wish to give away his kingdom?  O son of Kuru’s race, today thou art not competent to give away the earth!  Why then dost thou wish to make a gift of that over which thou hast no power?  Vanquishing me in battle, rule thou this earth!  Thou didst not formerly agree to give me even that much of the earth which would be covered by the point of a needle!  How then, O monarch, dost thou make me a gift of the whole earth?  How is it that thou, who couldst not formerly abandon even that much of land which the point of a needle would cover, now wishest to abandon the whole earth?  What fool is there that would, after having obtained such prosperity and ruled the entire earth, think of making a gift of that earth to his enemies?  Stupefied by folly, thou seest not the impropriety of this!  Although thou desirest to give away the earth, thou shalt not yet escape me with life!  Either rule the earth after having vanquished us, or go to regions of blessedness after being slain by us!  If both of us, that is, thyself and myself, be alive, then all creatures will remain in doubt about to whom the victory belongs.  Thy life, O thou of limited foresight, now depends upon me!  If I like, I can suffer thee to live, but thou art not capable of protecting thy own life!  Thou hadst at one time especially endeavoured to burn us to death and to take our lives by means of snakes and other kinds of poison and by drowning us!  We were also wronged by thee, O king, by the deprivation of our kingdom, by the cruel words spoken by thee, and by thy maltreatment of Draupadi!  For these reasons, O wretch, thy life must be taken!  Rise, rise, and fight us!  That will benefit thee!"’

“Sanjaya continued, ’In this strain, O king, those heroes, the Pandavas, flushed with victory, repeatedly spoke there (rebuking and mocking Duryodhana).’”

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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.