the midst of these Kshatriya heroes!  Myself, Vikartana’s son, Karna, Chitrasena, Vivinsati, Bhurisravas, Sala, Salya, the invincible Vrishasena, Purumitra, Jaya, Bhoja, Sudakshina the ruler of the Kamvojas, Satyavrata, the mighty-armed, Vikarna, Durmukha, Dussasana, Subahu, the ruler of the Kalingas, with his weapons upraised, Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti, Drona, Drona’s son, and Suvala’s son (Sakuni),—­these and numerous other kings will, with their forces, face the battle surrounding thee on all sides!  Let the fever of thy heart, therefore, be dispelled!  Thou art thyself one of the foremost of car-warriors!  O thou of immeasurable splendour, thou thyself art a hero!  Being what thou art how canst thou then see any cause of fear, O king of the Sindhus!  The eleven Akshauhinis of troops I own will carefully fight for protecting thee!  Therefore, do not fear, O king of the Sindhus!  Let thy fears be dispelled!’

’Sanjaya continued, ’Thus comforted, O monarch, by thy son, the king of the Sindhus then, accompanied by Duryodhana, repaired that very night to Drona (the generalissimo of the Kuru army).  Then, O king, having touched Drona’s feet with reverence, and taken his seat with humility, he asked the preceptor these words—­In hitting the aim, in hitting it from it distance, in tightness of hand, and in the force of the stroke, O illustrious one, tell the difference between myself and Phalguna!  O preceptor, I wish to know accurately the difference as regards proficiency (in the science of arms) between myself and Arjuna!  Say it unto me truly’

“Drona said, ’Of tutorial instruction, both of you, i.e., thyself and Arjuna, have had the same measure, O son!  In consequence, however, of yoga and the hard life led by Arjuna, he is superior to thee!  Thou shouldst not, however, for any reason, cherish fear of Partha!  Without doubt, I will, O son, protect thee from this fear!  The very gods, cannot prevail over him who is protected by my arms!  I will form an array which Partha will not succeed in piercing![127] Therefore contained thou in battle, do not fear, observing the duties of thy own order!  O mighty car-warrior, tread in the track of thy sires and grandsires!  Having duly studied the Vedas, thou hast poured libations, according to the ordinance, into fire!  Thou hast also performed many sacrifices:  Death cannot, therefore, be an object of terror to thee! (For if thou diest), attaining then to that great good fortune which is unattainable by vile men, thou will acquire all those excellent regions in heaven that are attainable by the might of one’s arms!  The Kaurvas, the Pandavas, the Vrishnis, and other men, as also myself with my son, are all mortal and short-lived!  Think of this.  One after another, all of us, slain by Time which is all powerful, shall go to the other world, carrying with us only our respective deeds I Those regions that ascetics acquire by undergoing severe penances, those regions are acquired by heroic Kshatriyas that are observant of the duties of their order.  Even thus was the ruler of the Sindhus consoled by Bharadwaja’s son.  Banishing his fear of Partha, he set his heart on battle.  Then, O king thy troops also felt great delight, and the loud sounds of musical instruments were heard, mingled with leonine shouts.’”