of the sons of Pandu? Piercing whose breasts will
terrible shafts stick to the ground to-day? Do
not weep for her, O timid girl, for know thou that
Krishna will come back this very day, and the sons
of Pritha, having slain their foes, will again be
united with Yagnaseni!’ Thus addressed by him,
Dhatreyika, wiping her beautiful face, replied unto
Indrasena the charioteer, saying, ’Disregarding
the five Indra-like sons of Pandu, Jayadratha hath
carried away Krishna by force. The track pursued
by him hath not yet disappeared, for the broken branches
of trees have not yet faded. Therefore, turn
your cars and follow her quickly, for the princess
cannot have gone far by this time! Ye warriors
possessed of the prowess of Indra, putting on your
costly bows of handsome make, and taking up your costly
bows and quivers, speed ye in pursuit of her, lest
overpowered by threats or violence and losing her sense
and the colour of her cheeks, she yields herself up
to an undeserving wight, even as one poureth forth,
from the sacrificial ladle, the sanctified oblation
on a heap of ashes. O, see that the clarified
butter is not poured into an unigniting fire of paddy
chaff; that a garland of flowers is not thrown away
in a cemetery. O, take care that the Soma juice
of a sacrifice is not licked up by a dog through the
carelessness of the officiating priests! O, let
not the lily be rudely torn by a jackal roaming for
its prey in the impenetrable forest. O, let no
inferior wight touch with his lips the bright and
beautiful face of your wife, fair as the beams of the
moon and adorned with the finest nose and the handsomest
eyes, like a dog licking clarified butter kept in
the sacrificial pot! Do ye speed in this track
and let not time steal a march on you.’
Yudhishthira said, ’Retire, good woman, and
control thy tongue. Speak not this way before
us. Kings or princes, whoever are infatuated with
the possession of power, are sure to come to grief!’”
Vaisampayana continued, “With these words, they
departed, following the track pointed out to them,
and frequently breathing deep sighs like the hissing
of snakes, and twanging the strings of their large
bows. And then they observed a cloud of dust
raised by the hoofs of the steeds belonging to Jayadratha’s
army. And they also saw Dhaumya in the midst of
the ravisher’s infantry, exhorting Bhima to
quicken his steps. Then those princes (the sons
of Pandu) with hearts undepressed, bade him be of good
cheer and said unto him, ’Do thou return cheerfully!’—And
then they rushed towards that host with great fury,
like hawks swooping down on their prey. And possessed
of the prowess of Indra, they had been filled with
fury at the insult offered to Draupadi. But at
sight of Jayadratha and of their beloved wife seated
on his car, their fury knew no bounds. And those
mighty bowmen, Bhima and Dhananjaya and the twin brothers
and the king, called out Jayadratha to stop, upon
which the enemy was so bewildered as to lose their
knowledge of directions.”