Beholding the vehicle thus reduced to ashes, O lord, the sons of Pandu became filled with wonder, and Arjuna, O king, having saluted Krishna and bowed unto him, said these words, with joined hands and in an affectionate voice, ’O Govinda, O divine one, for what reason hath this car been consumed by fire?  What is this highly wonderful incident that has happened before our eyes!  O thou of mighty arms, if thou thinkest that I can listen to it without harm, then tell me everything.’

Vasudeva said, ’That car, O Arjuna, had before been consumed by diverse kinds of weapons.  It was because I had sat upon it during battle that it did not fall into pieces, O scorcher of foes!  Previously consumed by the energy of brahmastra, it has been reduced to ashes upon my abandoning it after attainment by thee of thy objects!’

Then, with a little pride, that slayer of foes, the divine Keshava, embracing king Yudhishthira, said unto him, ’By good luck, thou hast won the victory, O son of Kunti!  By good luck, thy foes have been vanquished!  By good luck, the wielder of gandiva, Bhimasena the son of Pandu, thyself, O king, and the two sons of Madri have escaped with life from this battle so destructive of heroes, and have escaped after having slain all your foes!  Quickly do that, O Bharata, which should now be done by thee!

After I had arrived at Upaplavya, thyself, approaching me, with the wielder of gandiva in thy company, gavest me honey and the customary ingredients, and saidst these words, O Lord:  ’This Dhananjaya, O Krishna, is thy brother and friend!  He should, therefore, be protected by thee in all dangers!’ After thou didst say these words, I answered thee, saying, ‘So be it!’

That Savyasaci hath been protected by me.  Victory also hath been thine, O king!  With his brothers, O king of kings, that hero of true prowess hath come out of this dreadful battle, so destructive of heroes, with life!’ Thus addressed by Krishna, King Yudhishthira the just, with hair standing on end, O monarch, said these words unto Janardana: 

Yudhishthira said, “Who else save thee, O grinder of foes, not excepting the thunder-wielding Purandara himself, could have withstood the brahmastras hurled by Drona and Karna!  It was through thy grace that the samsaptakas were vanquished!  It was through thy grace that Partha had never to turn back from even the fiercest of encounters!  Similarly, it was through thy grace, O mighty-armed one, that I myself, with my posterity, have, by accomplishing diverse acts one after another, obtained the auspicious end of prowess and energy!  At Upaplavya, the great rishi Krishna-Dvaipayana told me that thither is Krishna where righteousness is, and thither is victory where Krishna is!’”