with grief that tiger among men, shedding his tears on the feet of his brother again said, ’This will never be!  The earth may split, the vault of heaven may break in pieces, the sun may cast off his splendour, the moon may abandon his coolness, the wind may forsake its speed, the Himavat may be moved from its site, the waters of the ocean may dry up, and fire may abandon its heat, yet I, O king, may never rule the earth without thee.’  And Dussasana repeatedly said, ’Relent, O king!  Thou alone shall be king in our race for a hundred years.’  And having spoken thus unto the king, Dussasana began to weep melodiously catching, O Bharata, the feet of his eldest brother deserving of worship from him.

“And beholding Dussasana and Duryodhana thus weeping, Karna in great grief approached them both and said, ’Ye Kuru princes, why do you thus yield to sorrow like ordinary men, from senselessness?  Mere weeping can never ease a sorrowing man’s grief.  When weeping can never remove one’s griefs, what do you gain by thus giving way to sorrow?  Summon patience to your aid to not gladden the foe by such conduct.  O king, the Pandavas only did their duty in liberating thee.  They that reside in the dominions of the king, should always do what is agreeable to the king.  Protected by thee, the Pandavas are residing happily in thy dominion.  It behoveth thee not to indulge in such sorrow like an ordinary person.  Behold, thy uterine brothers are all sad and cheerless at seeing thee resolved to put an end to thy life by forgoing food.  Blest be thou!  Rise up and come to thy city and console these thy uterine brothers.’”

SECTION CCXLVIII

“Karna continued, ’O king, this conduct of thine to-day appeareth to be childish.  O hero, O slayer of foes, what is to be wondered at in this that the Pandavas liberated thee when thou wert vanquished by the foe?  O son of the Kuru race, those that reside in the territories of the king, especially those (amongst them) that lead the profession of arms, should always do what is agreeable to the king whether they happen to be known to their monarch or unknown to him.  It happened often that foremost men who crush the ranks of the hostile host, are vanquished by them, and are rescued by their own troops.  They that leading the profession of arms, reside in the king’s realm should always combine and exert themselves to the best of their power, for the king.  If, therefore, O king, the Pandavas, who live in the territories, have liberated thee, what is there to be regretted at in this?  That the Pandavas, O best of kings, did not follow thee when thou didst march forth to battle at the head of thy troops, has been an improper act on their part.  They had before this come under thy power, becoming thy slaves.  They are, therefore, bound to aid thee now, being endued with courage and might and incapable of turning away from the field of battle.  Thou art enjoying