Section CXLVIII

"Sanjaya said,

'After the ruler of the Sindhus had been slain by Partha, Krishna, repairing unto the king, viz., Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, worshipped the latter with a gladdened heart.

And he said,

'By good luck, O king of kings, your prosperity increases. O best of men, your foe has been slain. By good luck, your younger brother has accomplished his vow.'

Thus addressed by Krishna, that subjugator of hostile towns, viz., king Yudhishthira, filled with joy, came down from his car, O Bharata!

His eyes filled with tears of joy, he embraced the two Krishnas and wiping his bright and lotus-like face, said these words unto Vasudeva, and Dhananjaya, the son of Pandu,

'You mighty car-warriors, by good luck, I behold both of you after you have accomplished your task. By good luck, that sinful wretch, viz., the ruler of the Sindhus, has been slain. You Krishnas, by good luck, you have done that which has filled me with great happiness. By good luck, our foes have been plunged into an ocean of grief. You are the sovereign lord of all the worlds, O slayer of Madhu! In the three worlds they that have you for their preceptor can have no object incapable of accomplishment.

Through your grace, O Govinda, we will conquer our foes, like Indra conquering the Danavas in days of old. Be it the conquest of the world, or be it the conquest of the three worlds, everything is certain, O you of the Vrishni race, in their case with whom you are gratified, O giver of honours! They can have no sin, nor can they meet with defeat in battle with whom you, O lord of the celestials, art gratified, O giver of honours! It is through your grace, O Hrishikesa, that Sakra has become the chief of the celestials.

It is through your grace, that blessed personage obtained on the field of battle the sovereignty of the three worlds! It is through your grace, O lord of the celestials, that the latter obtained immortality, O Krishna, and enjoy eternal regions (of bliss). Having slain thousands of Daityas, with prowess having its origin in your grace, O slayer of foes, Sakra obtained the lordship of the celestials.

Through your grace, O Hrishikesa, the mobile and immobile universe, without swerving from its (ordained) course, O hero, is engaged in prayers and homa!^[1] In the beginning, this universe, enveloped in darkness, had been one vast expanse of water. Through your grace, O mighty-armed one, the universe became manifest, O best of men! You are the creator of all the worlds, you are the Supreme Soul, and you are immutable! They that behold you, O Hrishikesa, are never confounded. You are the Supreme God, you are the God of gods, and you are Eternal. They that seek refuge with you, O lord of the gods, are never confounded.

Without beginning and without death, you are Divine, the Creator of all the worlds, and immutable. They that are devoted to you, O Hrishikesa, always tide over every difficulty. You are Supreme, the Ancient one, the Divine-Being, and that which is the Highest of the high. He that attains to that viz., your Supreme Self has ordained for him the highest prosperity. You are sung in the four Vedas. The four Vedas sing of you. Be seeking your shelter, O high-souled one, I shall enjoy unrivalled prosperity.

You are the Supreme God, you are the God of the highest gods, you are the lord of Winged creatures, and the lord of all human beings. You are the Supremest Lord of everything. I bow to you, O best of beings! You are the Lord, the Lord of lords O puissant one! Prosperity to you, O Madhava! O you of large eyes, O Universal soul, You are the origin of all things. He, again, that is a friend of Dhananjaya or is engaged in Dhananjaya’s good, obtaines you that art the preceptor of Dhananjaya and attains to happiness.'

Thus addressed by him those high-souled ones, viz., Kesava and Arjuna, cheerfully said unto the king, that lord of the earth,

'The sinful king Jayadratha, has been consumed by the fire of your wrath. O puissant one, although the Dhartarashtra host is vast and swells with pride, yet, O Bharata, struck and slain, it is being exterminated. O slayer of foes, it is in consequence of your wrath that the Kauravas are being destroyed. Having, O hero, angered you that canst slay with your eyes alone, the wicked-minded Suyodhana, with his friends and kinsmen, will have to lay down his life in battle.

Slain before in consequence of your ire, and struck down also by the gods themselves, the invincible Bhishma, the grandsire of the Kurus, lies now on a bed of arrows. O slayer of foes, victory in battle is unattainable by them, and death also waites for them, that have you, O son of Pandu, for their foe. Kingdom, life, dear ones, children, and diverse kinds of bliss, will soon be lost by him with whom you, O scorcher of foes, hast been angry. I regard the Kauravas to be lost with their sons, and kinsmen, when you, O scorcher of foes, that art observant of the duties of a king, hast been angry with them.'

Then Bhima, O king, and the mighty car-warrior Satyaki, both mangled with shafts, saluted their senior. And those two mighty bowmen sat down on the ground, surrounded by the Pancalas, Beholding those two heroes filled with joy and arrived and waiting with joined hands, the son of Kunti congratulated them both, saying, 'By good luck, it is that I see you both, you heroes, escaped with lire from that sea of (hostile) troops, that sea in which Drona acted the part of an invincible alligator, and the son of Hridika that of a fierce shark. By good luck, all the kings of the earth have been vanquished (by you two).^[2] By good luck, I see both of you victorious in battle. By good luck, Drona has been vanquished in battle, and that mighty car-warrior also viz., the son of Hridika. By good luck, Karna has been vanquished in battle with barbed shafts.

By good luck, Salya also was obliged to turn away from the field by you both, you bulls among men. By good luck, I behold you both come back from battle safe and sound, you that are foremost of car-warriors and well-skilled in battle! By good luck, I behold again, you heroes, that have forded that sea of troops in obedience to my command, you that went to battle impelled by the desire of honouring me! You are heroes delighting in battle. You are to me as life. By good luck, I see you both.' Having said this, the son of Pandu, O king, embraced both Yuyudhana and Vrikodara, those tigers among men, and shed tears of joy. Then, O monarch, the entire host of the Pandavas became cheerful and filled with joy. And all of them once more set their hearts on battle.'"