or at one whose armour is displaced, or at one whose weapon has fallen off or been broken!  Thou art the bravest of men in the world.  Thou art also of righteous behaviour, O son of Pandu!  Thou art well-acquainted with the rules of battle.  For these reasons, excuse me for a moment, that is, till I extricate my wheel, O Dhananjaya, from the earth.  Thyself staying on thy car and myself standing weak and languid on the earth, it behoveth thee not to slay me now.  Neither Vasudeva, nor thou, O son of Pandu, inspirest me with the slightest fear.  Thou art born in the Kshatriya order.  Thou art the perpetuator of a high race.  Recollecting the teachings of righteousness, excuse me for a moment, O son of Pandu!"’”

91

“Sanjaya said, ’Then Vasudeva, stationed on the car, addressed Karna, saying, “By good luck it is, O son of Radha, that thou rememberest virtue!  It is generally seen that they that are mean, when they sink into distress, rail at Providence but never at their own misdeeds.  Thyself and Suyodhana and Duhshasana and Shakuni, the son of Subala, had caused Draupadi, clad in a single piece of raiment, to be brought into the midst of the assembly.  On that occasion, O Karna, this virtue of thine did not manifest itself.  When at the assembly Shakuni, an adept in dice, vanquished Kunti’s son Yudhishthira who was unacquainted with it, whither had this virtue of thine gone?  When the Kuru king (Duryodhana), acting under thy counsels, treated Bhimasena in that way with the aid of snakes and poisoned food, whither had this virtue of thine then gone?  When the period of exile into the woods was over as also the thirteenth year, thou didst not make over to the Pandavas their kingdom.  Whither had this virtue of thine then gone?  Thou didst set fire to the house of lac at Varanavata for burning to death the sleeping Pandavas.  Whither then, O son of Radha, had this virtue of thine gone?  Thou laughedest at Krishna while she stood in the midst of the assembly, scantily dressed because in her season and obedient to Duhshasana’s will, whither, then, O Karna, had this virtue of thine gone?  When from the apartment reserved for the females innocent Krishna was dragged, thou didst not interfere.  Whither, O son of Radha, had this virtue of thine gone?  Thyself addressing the princess Draupadi, that lady whose tread is as dignified as that of the elephant, in these words, viz., ’The Pandavas, O Krishna, are lost.  They have sunk into eternal hell.  Do thou choose another husband!’ thou lookedest on the scene with delight.  Whither then, O Karna, had this virtue of thine gone?  Covetous of kingdom and relying on the ruler of the Gandharvas, thou summonedest the Pandavas (to a match of dice).  Whither then had this virtue of thine gone?  When many mighty car-warriors, encompassing the boy Abhimanyu in battle, slew him, whither had this virtue of thine then gone?  If this virtue that thou now invokest was nowhere on those occasions,