No doubt, you will, before long, rule over men in a
praiseworthy way, all your desires being fulfilled.
Here are we prepared to chastise the Kurus, as soon
as the stipulation made by you is fully performed!
And Krishna, the foremost of the Dasarha tribe, then
said to Dhaumya and Bhima and Yudhishthira, and the
twins and Krishna, ’How fortunate that by your
blessing Arjuna the bearer of the coronet, has arrived
after having acquired the science of arms!”
And Krishna, the leader of the Dasarha tribe, accompanied
by friends, likewise spoke to Krishna, the daughter
of Yajnasena, saying, ’How fortunate that you
are united, safe and secure, with Arjuna, the winner
of riches!’ And Krishna also said, ’O Krishna,
O daughter of Yajnasena, those sons of yours, are
devoted to the study of the science of arms, are well-behaved
and conduct themselves on the pattern, O Krishna,
of their righteous friends. Your father and your
uterine brothers proffer them a kingdom and territories;
but the boys find no joy in the house of Drupada,
or in that of their maternal uncles. Safely proceeding
to the land of the Anartas, they take the greatest
delight in the study of the science of arms. Your
sons enter the town of the Vrishnis and take an immediate
liking to the people there. And as you would
direct them to conduct themselves, or as the respected
Kunti would do, so does Subhadra direct them in a
watchful way. Perhaps, she is still more careful
of them. And, O Krishna, as Rukmini’s son
is the preceptor of Aniruddha, of Abhimanyu, of Sunitha,
and of Bhanu; so he is the preceptor and the refuge
of your sons also! And a good preceptor, would
unceasingly give them lessons in the wielding of maces
and swords and bucklers, in missiles and in the arts
of driving cars and of riding horses, being valiant.
And he, the son of Rukmini, having bestowed a very
good training upon them, and having taught them the
art of using various weapons in a proper way, takes
satisfaction at the valorous deeds of your sons, and
of Abhimanyu. O daughter of Drupada! And
when your son goes out, in pursuit of (out-door) sports,
each one of them is followed thither by cars and horses
and vehicles and elephants.’ And Krishna
said to the virtuous king, Yudhishthira, The fighting
men of the Dasarha tribe, and the Kukuras, and the
Andhakas—let these, O king, place themselves
at thy command—let them perform what thou
desirest them. O lord of men, let the army of
the tribe of Madhus, (resistless) like the wind, with
their bows and led by Balarama whose weapon is the
plough—let that army, equipped (for war),
consisting of horsemen and foot soldiers and horses
and cars and elephants, prepare to do your bidding.
O son of Pandu! Drive Duryodhana, the son of
Dhritarashtra, the vilest of sinful men, together
with his followers and his hosts of friends to the
path betaken by the lord of Saubha, the son of the
Earth! You, O ruler of men, are welcome to stick
to that stipulation which was made in the assembly-hall—but