The driver said, “The sons of Draupadi, O king, have been slain, with all the children of Drupada himself, while they were heedless and trustfully asleep in their own camp!  During the night, O king, thy camp has been exterminated by the cruel Kritavarma, and Kripa, the son of Gautama, and the sinful Ashvatthama!  Slaying thousands of men and elephants and steeds with lances and darts and battle-axes, those men have exterminated thy army.  While thy army was being slaughtered like a forest cut down with axes, a loud wail was heard rising from thy camp.  I am the sole survivor, O monarch, of that vast force.  I have, O thou of virtuous soul, escaped with difficulty from Kritavarma at a time when he was heedless!”

Hearing these evil tidings, Kunti’s son Yudhishthira, however, capable of bearing up (against foes), fell down on the earth, afflicted with grief at the loss of his sons.  Advancing forward, Satyaki held the king in his embrace.  Bhimasena and Arjuna and the two sons of Madri also stretched forth their arms.  Having recovered his senses, the son of Kunti lamented in great affliction, uttering these words rendered indistinct by sorrow:  “Alas, having vanquished the foe, we have ourselves been vanquished in the end!  The course of events is difficult to be ascertained even by persons endued with spiritual sight.  The foes, who were vanquished have become victorious!  Ourselves, again, while victorious, are vanquished!  Having slain brothers and friends and sires and sons and well-wishers, and kinsmen, and counsellors, and having vanquished them all, we ourselves are vanquished at last!  Misery looks like prosperity and prosperity looks like misery!  This our victory has assumed the shape of defeat.  Our victory, therefore, has ended in defeat!  Having won the victory, I am obliged to grieve as an afflicted wretch.  How, then, can I regard it as a victory?  In reality, I have been doubly defeated by the foe.  They for whose sake we have incurred the sin of victory by slaying our kinsmen and friends, alas, they, after victory had crowned them, have been vanquished by defeated foes that were heedful!

Alas, through heedlessness have they been slain that had escaped from even Karna, that warrior who had barbed arrows and nalikas for his teeth, the sword for his tongue, the bow for his gaping mouth, and the twang of the bowstring and the sound of palms for his roars—­that angry Karna who never retreated from battle, and who was a very lion among men!  Alas, those princes that succeeded in crossing, by boats constituted by their own excellent weapons, the great Drona-ocean having cars for its deep lakes, showers of arrows for its waves, the ornaments of warriors for its gems, car-steeds for its animals, darts and swords for its fishes, elephants for its alligators, bows for its whirlpools, mighty weapons for its foam, and the signal of battle for its moonrise causing it to swell with energy, and the twang of the bowstring and the sound of palms for its roar,—­alas, even those princes have from heedlessness been slain!