"The Danavas said, 'O Suyodhana, O great king! O perpetuator of the race
of Bharata, thou art ever surrounded by heroes and illustrious men. Why
hast thou, then, undertaken to do such a rash act as the vow of
starvation? The suicide ever sinketh into hell and becometh the subject
of calumnious speech. Nor do intelligent persons like thee ever set
their hands to acts that are sinful and opposed to their best interests
and striking at the very root of their purposes. Restrain this resolve
of thine, therefore, O king, which is destructive of morality, profit,
and happiness, of fame, prowess, and energy, and which enhanceth the joy
of foes. O exalted king, know the truth, the celestial origin of thy
soul, and the maker of thy body, and then summon thou patience to thy
aid. In days of old, O king, we have obtained thee, by ascetic
austerities from Maheswara. The upper part of thy body is wholly made of
an assemblage of _Vajras_, and is, therefore, invulnerable to weapons of
every description, O sinless one. The lower part of thy body, capable of
captivating the female heart by its comeliness was made of flowers by
the goddess herself--the wife of Mahadeva. Thy body is thus, O best of
kings, the creation of Maheswara himself and his goddess. Therefore, O
tiger among kings, thou art of celestial origin, not human. Other brave
Kshatriyas of mighty energy headed by Bhagadatta, and all acquainted
with celestial weapons, will slay thy foes. Therefore, let this grief of
thine cease. Thou hast no cause for fear. For aiding thee, many heroic
_Danavas_ have been born on the earth. Other Asuras will also possess
Bhishma and Drona and Karna and others. Possessed by those Asuras, these
heroes will cast away their kindness and fight with thy foes. Indeed,
when the _Danavas_ will enter their heart and possess them completely,
flinging all affections to a distance, becoming hard-hearted, these
warriors will strike every body opposed to them in battle without
sparing sons, brothers, fathers, friends, disciples, relatives, even
children and old men. Blinded by ignorance and wrath, and impelled by
that destiny which hath been ordained by the Creator, these tigers among
men, with hearts steeped in sin, will, O thou foremost of the Kurus,
depopulate the earth by hurling and shooting all kinds of weapons, with
great manliness and strength and always addressing one another
boastfully with words such as these, "_Thou shall not escape from me
today with life_." And these illustrious sons of Pandu also, five in
number, will fight with these. And, endued with mighty strength and
favoured by Fate, they will compass the destruction of these. And, O
king, many _Daityas_ and _Rakshasas_ also that have been born in the
Kshatriya order, will fight with great prowess in the battle with thy
foes, using maces and clubs and lances and various weapons of a superior
kind. And, O hero, with respect to the fear that is in thy heart rising
from Arjuna, we have already settled the means for slaying Arjuna. The
soul of the slain Naraka hath assumed the form of Karna. Recollecting
his former hostility he will encounter both Kesava and Arjuna. And that
mighty warrior and foremost of smiters, proud of his prowess will
vanquish Arjuna in battle as also all thy enemies. The wielder of the
thunder-bolt, knowing all this, and desirous of saving Arjuna, will in
disguise take away from Karna his ear-rings and coat of mail. We also
have for that reason appointed hundreds upon hundreds and thousands upon
thousands of _Daityas_ and _Rakshasas_, viz., those that are known by
the name of _Samsaptakas_.[43] These celebrated warriors will slay the
heroic Arjuna. Therefore, grieve not, O king. Thou wilt rule the whole
earth, O monarch, without a rival. Do not yield to despondency. Conduct
such as this does not suit thee. O thou of the Kuru race, if thou diest,
our party becometh weak. Go thou, O hero, and let not thy mind be
directed to any other course of action. Thou art ever our refuge as,
indeed, the Pandavas are the refuge of the gods.'"
[43] Lit, Soldiers that have sworn to conquer or die. A full
Akshauhini of these soldiers was owned by Krishna, who gave them
to Duryodhana to fight for him. The story of Krishna's offering
to Duryodhana the choice between these soldiers on the one side,
and himself sworn not to fight but only to aid with his counsels
on the other, is given in full in the Udyoga Parva. Duryodhana,
from folly, accepted the former, who were all slain by Arjuna.
Vaisampayana continued, "Having addressed him thus, those _Daityas_
embraced that elephant among kings, and those bulls among the _Danavas_
cheered that irrepressible one like a son. And, O Bharata, pacifying his
mind by soft speech, they permitted him to depart, saying, 'Go and
attain victory!' And when they had given leave to the mighty-armed one,
that very goddess carried him back to the spot where he had sat down,
intent upon putting an end to his life. And having set that hero down
and paid him homage, the goddess vanished, taking the king's permission.
O Bharata, when she had gone, king Duryodhana considered all (that had
happened) as a dream. He then thought within himself, 'I shall defeat
the Pandavas in battle.' And Suyodhana thought that Karna and the
Samsaptaka army were both able (to destroy) and intent upon destroying
that slayer of foes, Partha. Thus, O bull of the Bharata race, the hope
was strengthened of the wicked minded son of Dhritarashtra, of
conquering the Pandavas. And Karna also, his soul and faculties
possessed by the inmost soul of Naraka, had at that time cruelly
determined to slay Arjuna. And those heroes--the Samsaptakas
also--having their sense possessed by the _Rakshasas_, and influenced by
the qualities of emotion and darkness, were desirous of slaying
Phalguna. And, O king, others with Bhishma, Drona, and Kripa at their
head, having their faculties influenced by the Danavas, were not so
affectionate towards the sons of Pandu as they had been. But king
Suyodhana did not tell any one of this.
"When the night passed away, Karna, that offspring of the Sun, with
joined hands, smilingly addressed these wise words to king Duryodhana,
'No dead man conquereth his foes: it is when he is alive that he can see
his good. Where is the good of the dead person; and, O Kauravya, where
is his victory? Therefore, this is no time for grief, or fear or death.'
And having, with his arms embraced that mighty-armed one, he further
said, 'Rise up, O king! Why dost thou lie down? Why dost thou grieve, O
slayer of foes? Having afflicted thy enemies by thy prowess, why dost
thou wish for death? Or (perhaps) fear hath possessed thee at the sight
of Arjuna's prowess. I truly promise unto thee that I will slay Arjuna
in battle. O lord of men, I swear by my weapon that when the three and
ten years shall have passed away, I will bring the sons of Pritha under
thy subjection.' Thus addressed by Karna, and remembering the words of
the _Daityas_ and supplications made by them (his brothers), Suyodhana
rose up. And having heard those words of the _Daityas_ that tiger among
men, with a firm resolve in his heart arrayed his army, abounding in
horses and elephants and cars and infantry. And, O monarch, immensely
swarming with white umbrellas, and pennons, and white _Chamaras_, and
cars, and elephants, and foot-soldiers, that mighty army, as it moved
like the waters of the Ganga, looked graceful like the firmament, at a
season when the clouds have dispersed and the signs of autumn have been
but partially developed. And, O foremost of kings, eulogised like a
monarch by the best of the Brahmanas blessing with victory, that lord of
men Suyodhana, Dhritarashtra's son, receiving honours paid with
innumerable joined palms, and flaming in exceeding splendour, went in
the front, accompanied by Karna, and that gambler, the son of Suvala.
And all his brothers with Dussasana at their head, and Bhurisrava, and
Somadatta, and the mighty king Vahlika, followed that lion among kings
on his way, with cars of various forms, and horses, and the best of
elephants. And, O prince among monarchs, in a short time, those
perpetuators of the Kuru race entered their own city."