his wrath, being tied through his elder brother in
the bonds of truth! Superior in battle to all
warriors, he now lieth quiet on the ground, restrained
by virtue and truth, and burning to slay my children,
he bideth his time. The cruel words that Dussasana
spoke after Yudhishthira had been deceitfully defeated
at dice, have sunk deep into Vrikodara’s heart,
and are consuming him, like a burning bundle of straw
consuming a fagot of dry wood! The son of Dharma
never acteth sinfully; Dhananjaya also always obeyeth
him; but Bhima’s wrath, in consequence of a life
of exile, is increasing like a conflagration assisted
by the wind! That hero, burning with rage such
as that, squeezeth his hands and breatheth hot and
fierce sighs, as if consuming therewith my sons and
grandsons! The wielder of the Gandiva
and Vrikodara, when angry, are like Yama and Kala
themselves; scattering their shafts, which are like
unto thunder-bolts, they exterminate in battle the
ranks of the enemy. Alas Duryodhana, and Sakuni,
and the Suta’s son, and Dussasana also
of wicked soul, in robbing the Pandavas of their kingdom
by means of dice, seem to behold the honey alone without
marking the terrible ruin. A man having acted
rightly or wrongly, expecteth the fruit of those acts.
The fruit, however, confounding him, paralyses him
fully. How can man, thereof, have salvation?
If the soil is properly tilled, and the seed sown
therein, and if the god (of rain) showereth in season,
still the crop may not grow. This is what we
often hear. Indeed, how could this saying be
true unless, as I think, it be that everything here
is dependent on Destiny? The gambler Sakuni hath
behaved deceitfully towards the son of Pandu, who
ever acteth honestly. From affection for my wicked
sons I also have acted similarly. Alas, it is
owing to this that the hour of destruction hath come
for the Kurus! Oh, perhaps, what is inevitable
must happen! The wind, impelled or not, will move.
The woman that conceives will bring forth. Darkness
will be dispelled at dawn, and day disappear at evening!
Whatever may be earned by us or others, whether people
spend it or not, when the time cometh, those possessions
of ours do bring on misery. Why then do people
become so anxious about earning wealth? If, indeed,
what is acquired is the result of fate, then should
it be protected so that it may not be divided, nor
lost little by little, nor permitted to flow out at
once, for if unprotected, it may break into a hundred
fragments. But whatever the character of our
possessions, our acts in the world are never lost.
Behold what the energy of Arjuna is, who went into
the abode of Indra from the woods! Having mastered
the four kinds of celestial weapons he hath come back
into this world! What man is there who, having
gone to heaven in his human form, wisheth to come
back? This would never have been but because
he seeth innumerable Kurus to be at the point of death,
afflicted by Time! The bowman is Arjuna, capable
of wielding the bow with his left hand as well!
The bow he wieldeth is the Gandiva of fierce
impetus. He hath, besides, those celestial weapons
of his! Who is there that would bear the energy
of these three!’