“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.'”
SECTION LXXV
“Sanjaya said, ‘After Partha had vowed the death of the ruler of the Sindhus, the mighty-armed Vasudeva addressed Dhananjaya and said,–With the consent of thy brothers (alone, but without consulting me), thou hast sworn, saying–I will slay the ruler of the Sindhus! This hath been an act of great rashness (on thy part)! Without consulting me, thou hast taken up a great weight (upon thy shoulders)! Alas, how shall we escape the ridicule of all men? I had sent some spies into the camp of Dhritarashtra’s son. Those spies, quickly coming unto me, gave me this information, viz., that after thou, O lord, hadst vowed to slay the ruler of the Sindhus, loud leonine shouts, mingled with the sounds of (our) musical instruments, were heard by the Dhritarashtras.
In consequence of that uproar, the Dhritarashtras, with their well-wishers, became terrified,–These leonine shouts are not, causeless!–thought they, and waited (for what would ensue).
O thou of mighty arms, an uproarious din then arose amongst the Kauravas, of their elephants and steeds and infantry. And a terrible rattle was also heard of their cars.–Having heard of the death of Abhimanyu, Dhananjaya, deeply afflicted will in wrath come out in the night for battle!–Than king even thus, they waited (ready for battle). While preparing themselves. O thou of eyes like lotus-petals, they then learnt truly the vow about the slaughter of the ruler of the Sindhus, made by thee that art wedded to truth.[128] Then all the counsellors of Suyodhana became heartless and frightened like little animals. As regards king Jayadratha, that ruler of the Sindhus and the Sauviras, overwhelmed with grief and becoming thoroughly cheerless he stood up and entered his own tent with all his counsellors. Having consulted (with them) about every remedy that could benefit him at a time when he stood in need of consultation, he proceeded to the assembly of the (allied) kings and there said these words unto Suyodhana–Dhananjaya thinking me to be the slayer of his son, will tomorrow encounter me in battle! He hath, in the midst of his army, vowed to stay me! That vow of Savyasachin the very gods and Gandharvas and Asuras and Uragas and Rakshasas cannot venture to frustrate! Protect me, therefore, ye all in battle! Let not Dhananjaya, placing his foot on your head, succeed in hitting the mark! Let proper arrangements be made in respect of this matter! Or, if, O delighter of the Kurus, you think that you will not succeed in protecting me in battle, grant me permission then, O king, so that I may return home! Thus addressed (by Jayadratha), Suyodhana became cheerless and sat, hanging down his head. Ascertaining that Jayadratha was in a great fright, Suyodhana began to reflect in silence.
Beholding the Kuru king to be greatly afflicted, king Jayadratha, the ruler of the Sindhus, slowly said these words having a beneficial reference to himself–I do not behold here that bowman of superior energy who can baffle with his arms the weapons of Arjuna in great battle! Who, even if it be Satakratu himself, will stay in front of Arjuna having Vasudeva for his ally, while wielding the bow Gandiva? It is heard that lord Maheswara himself of supreme energy had been encountered, before this, by Partha on foot, on the mountains of Himvat! Urged by the chief of the celestials, he slew on a single car, a thousand Danavas dwelling in Hiranyapura! That son of Kunti is now allied with Vasudeva of great intelligence. I think that he is competent to destroy the three worlds including the very gods. I wish that you will either grant me permission (to leave the field for my home) or that the high-souled and heroic Drona with his son will protect me! Or, I would await thy pleasure!–O Arjuna, (thus addressed by Jayadratha) king Suyodhana humbly beseeched the preceptor in this matter.[129] All remedial measures have been adopted. Cars and steeds have been arranged.
Karna and Bhurisravas, and Drona’s son, and the invincible Vrishasena, and Kripa, and the ruler of the Madras, these six will be in (Jayadratha’s) van. Drona will form an array half of which will be a Sakata[130] and half a lotus. In the middle of the leaves of that lotus will be a needle-mouthed array. Jayadratha, that ruler of the Sindhus, difficult of being conquered in battle, will take his stand, by it, protected by heroes! In (the use of) the bow, in weapons, in prowess, in strength, and also in lineage, those six car-warriors, O Partha are without doubt, exceedingly difficult of being borne.
Without first vanquishing those six car-warriors, access to Jayadratha will not to be had. Think, O Arjuna, of the prowess of each of those six, O tiger among men, when united together, they are not capable of being easily vanquished! We should, therefore, once again, take counsel with well-wishing counsellors, conversant with policy, for our benefit and for the success of our object!'”
SECTION LXXVI
“Arjuna said, ‘These six car-warriors of the Dhritarashtra army whom thou regardest to be so strong their (united) energy, I think is not equal to even half of mine! Thou shalt see, O slayer of Madhu, the weapons of all these cut off and baffled by me when I go against them for slaying Jayadratha! In the very sight of Drona and all his men, I will fell the head of the ruler of the Sindhus, on the earth, beholding which they will indulge in lamentations. If the Siddhas, the Rudras, the Vasus, with the Aswins, the Maruts with Indra: (at their head) the Viswadevas with other gods, the Pitris, the Gandharvas, Garuda, the Ocean, the mountains, the firmament, Heaven, Earth, the point of the compass (cardinal and subsidiary), and the regents of those points, all the creatures that are domestic and all that are wild, in fact if all the mobile and the immobile beings together, become the protectors of the ruler of the Sindhus, yet, O slayer of Madhu, shalt thou behold Jayadratha slain by me tomorrow in battle with my arrows! O Krishna, I swear by Truth, I touch my weapons (and swear by them), that I shall, O Kesava, at the very outset, encounter that Drona, that mighty bowman, who hath become the protector of that sinful wretch Jayadratha! Suyodhana thinks that this game (of battle) resteth on Drona! Therefore, piercing through the very van commanded by Drona himself, I shall get at Jayadratha! Thou shalt tomorrow behold the mightiest of bowmen riven by me in battle by means of my shafts endued with fierce energy, like summits of a hill riven by the thunder, Blood shall flow (in torrents) from the breasts of fallen men and elephants and steeds, split open by whetted shafts failing fast upon them! The shafts shot from Gandiva, fleet as the mind or the wind, will deprive thousands of men and elephants and steeds of life! Men will behold in tomorrow’s battle those weapons which I have obtained from Yama and Kaurva and Varuna and Indra and Rudra! Thou shalt behold in tomorrow’s battle the weapons of all those who come to protect the ruler of the Sindhus, baffled by me with my Brahma weapon! Thou shalt in tomorrow’s battle, O Kesava, behold the earth strewn by me with the heads of kings cut off by the force, of my shafts! (Tomorrow) I shall gratify all cannibals, rout the foe, gladden my friends, and crush the ruler of the Sindhus! A great offender, one who hath not acted like a relative, born in a sinful country, the ruler of the Sindhu, slain by me, will sadden his own.
