And, O king, taken by thee, strong beings superior to thee, shall immediately lose their strength.”  I heard these words of those compassionate ones, who felt attached unto me.  And then the Brahmanas vanished.  Thus, O highly effulgent one, having become a serpent, I, doing exceedingly sinful acts, live in unclean hell, in expectation of the (appointed) time.’  The mighty-armed Bhimasena addressed the serpent, saying, ’I am not angry, O mighty snake,—­nor do I blame myself.  Since in regard to happiness and misery, men sometimes possess the power of bringing and dismissing them, and sometimes do not.  Therefore one should not fret one’s mind.  Who can baffle destiny by self-exertion?  I deem destiny to be supreme, and self-exertion to be of no avail.  Smitten with the stroke of destiny, the prowess of my arms lost, behold me to-day fallen unto this condition without palpable cause.  But to-day I do not so much grieve for my own self being slain, as I do for my brothers deprived of their kingdom, and exiled into the forest.  This Himalaya is inaccessible, and abounds with Yakshas and the Rakshasas.  And searching about for me, they will be distracted.  And hearing that I have been killed, (my brothers) will forego all exertion, for, firm in promise, they have hitherto been controlled by my harsh speech, I being desirous of gaining the kingdom.  Or the intelligent Arjuna (alone), being versed in every lore, and incapable of being overcome by gods and Rakshasas and Gandharvas, will not be afflicted with grief.  That mighty-armed and exceedingly powerful one is able single-handed to speedily pull down from his place even the celestials.  What shall I say of the deceitfully gambling son of Dhritarashtra, detested of all men, and filled with haughtiness and ignorance!  And I also grieve for my poor mother, affectionate to her sons, who is ever solicitous for our greatness in a large measure than is attained by our enemies.  O serpent, the desire that forlorn one had in me will all be fruitless in consequence of my destruction.  And gifted with manliness, the twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, following their elder brother (me), and always protected by the strength of my arms, will, owing to my destruction, be depressed and deprived of their prowess, and stricken with grief.  This is what I think.’  In this way Vrikodara lamented profusely.  And being bound by the body of the snake, he could not exert himself.

“On the other hand, Kunti’s son, Yudhishthira, (seeing) and reflecting on dreadful ill omens, became alarmed.  Terrified by the blaze of the points of the horizon, jackals stationing themselves on the right of that hermitage, set up frightful and inauspicious yells.  And ugly Vartikas as of dreadful sight, having one wing, one eye, and one leg, were seen to vomit blood, facing the sun.  And the wind began to blow dryly, and violently, attracting grits.  And to the right all the beasts and birds began to cry.  And in the rear the black crows cried, ‘Go!’