is full of Vishnu, as the universe is full of Vishnu, as everything is full of Vishnu, so let my soul be full of Vishnu and my sins be destroyed!  I seek thy protection and am devoted to thee, desirous of obtaining a happy end O thou of eyes like lotus petals, O best of gods, do thou think of what will be for my good!  Thyself without origin, O Vishnu, thou art the origin of Knowledge and Penances.  Thus art thou praised!  O Janardana, thus worshipped by me in the Sacrifice constituted by speech (alone), be, O god, gratified with me!  The Vedas are devoted to Narayana.  Penances are devoted to Narayana.  The gods are devoted to Narayana.  Everything is always Narayana!’”

Vaisampayana continued, “Having uttered these words, Bhishma, with mind concentrated upon Krishna, said, ‘Salutations to Krishna!’ and bowed unto him.  Learning by his Yoga prowess of the devotion of Bhishma, Madhava, otherwise called Hari, (entering his body) bestowed upon him heavenly knowledge compassing the Past, the Present, and the Future, and went away.  When Bhishma became silent, those utterers of Brahma (that sat around him), with voices choked in tears, adored that high-souled chief of the Kurus in excellent words.  Those foremost of Brahmanas uttered the praises of Krishna also, that first of Beings, and then continued in soft voices to commend Bhishma repeatedly.  Learning (by his Yoga powers) of the devotion of Bhishma towards him, that foremost of Beings, viz., Madhava, suddenly rose from his seat and ascended on his car, Kesava and Satyaki proceeded on one car.  On another proceeded those two illustrious princes, viz., Yudhishthira and Dhananjaya.  Bhimasena and the twins rode on a third; while those bulls among men, Kripa and Yuyutsu, and that scorcher of foes, Sanjaya of the Suta caste, proceeded on their respective cars, each of which looked like a town.  And all of them proceeded, causing the earth to tremble with the rattle of their chariot-wheels.  That foremost of men, as he proceeded, cheerfully listened to the speeches, fraught with his praise, that were uttered by the Brahmanas.  The slayer of Kesi, with gladdened heart, saluted the people that waited (along the streets) with joined hands and bent heads.”

SECTION XLIX

Vaisampayana said, “Then Hrishikesa and king Yudhishthira, and all those persons headed by Kripa, and the four Pandavas, riding on those cars looking like fortified cities and decked with standards and banners, speedily proceeded to Kurukshetra with the aid of their fleet steeds.  They descended on that field which was covered with hair and marrow and bones and where millions of high-souled Kshatriyas had cast away their bodies.  It abounded also with many a hill formed of the bodies and bones of elephants and steeds, and human heads and skulls lay stretched over it like conch-shells.  Variegated with thousands of funeral pyres and teeming with heaps