"Jarasandha said,--'I do not recollect if I ever acted injuriously
towards ye! Even upon a careful mental scrutiny I fail to see the
injury I did unto ye. When I have never done ye an injury, why, ye
Brahmanas do ye regard me, who am innocent, as your foe? O, answer me
truly, for this, indeed, is the rule followed by the honest. The mind
is pained at the injury to one's pleasure and morality. That Kshatriya
who injures an innocent man's (sources of) pleasure and morality even
if he be otherwise a great warrior and well-versed in all rules of
morality, obtains, without any doubt the fate of sinners (hereafter)
and falls off from prosperity. The practices of the Kshatriyas are the
best of those that are honest in the three worlds. Indeed, those that
are acquainted with morality applaud the Kshatriya practices. Adhering
to those practices of my order with steady soul, I never injure those
that are under me. In bringing this charge, therefore, against me, it
appears that ye speak erroneously!'
"Krishna said,--'O thou of mighty arms, there is a certain person of
the head of a (royal) line who upholdeth the dignity of his race. At
his command have we come against thee. Thou hast brought, O king, many
of the Kshatriyas of the world as captives (to thy city.) Having
perpetrated that wicked wrong how dost thou regard thyself as innocent?
O best of monarchs, how can a king act wrongfully towards other
virtuous kings? But thou, O king, treating other kings with cruelty,
seekest to offer them as sacrifice unto the god Rudra! O son of
Vrihadratha, this sin committed by thee may touch even us, for as we
are virtuous in our practices, we are capable of protecting virtue. The
slaughter of human being as sacrifice unto the gods is never seen. Why
dost thou, therefore, seek to perform a sacrifice unto god Sankara by
slaughtering human beings? Thou art addressing persons belonging to thy
own order as animals (fit for sacrifice)! Fool as thou art, who else, O
Jarasandha, is capable of behaving in this way? One always obtaineth
the fruits of whatever acts one performeth under whatever
circumstances. Therefore, desirous as we are of helping all distressed
people, we have, for the prosperity of our race, come hither to slay
thee, the slaughterer of our relatives. Thou thinkest that there is no
man among the Kshatriyas (equal to thee). This, O king, is a great
error of judgment on thy part. What Kshatriya is there, O king, who
endued with greatness of soul and recollecting the dignity of his own
parentage, would not ascend to eternal heaven that hath not its like
anywhere, falling in open fight? Know O bull among men, that Kshatriyas
engage themselves in battle, as persons installed in sacrifices, with
heaven in view, and vanquish the whole world! Study of the Vedas, great
fame, ascetic penances, and death in battle, are all acts that lead to
heaven. The attainment of heaven by the three other acts may be
uncertain, but death in battle hath that for its certain consequence.
Death in battle is the sure cause of triumph like Indra's. It is graced
by numerous merits. It is for this reason that he of a hundred
sacrifices (Indra) hath become what he is, and by vanquishing the
Asuras he ruleth the universe. Hostility with whom else than thee is so
sure of leading to heaven, proud as thou art of the excessive strength
of thy vast Magadha host? Don't disregard others, O king. Valour
dwelleth in every man. O king of men, there are many men whose valour
may be equal or superior to thine. As long as these are not known, so
long only art thou noted for thy valour. Thy prowess, O king, can be
borne by us. It is, therefore, that I say so. O king of Magadha, cast
off thy superiority and pride in the presence of those that are thy
equals. Go not, O king, with thy children and ministers and army, into
the regions of Yama. Damvodhava, Kartavirya, Uttara, and Vrihadratha,
were kings that met with destruction, along with all their forces, for
having disregarded their superiors. Desirous of liberating the captive
monarchs from thee, know that we are certainly not Brahmanas. I am
Hrishesha otherwise called Sauri, and these two heroes among men are
the sons of Pandu. O king of Magadha, we challenge thee. Fight standing
before us. Either set free all the monarchs, or go thou to the abode of
Yama.'
"Jarasandha said,--'I never make a captive of a king without first
vanquishing him. Who hath been kept here that hath not been defeated in
war? This, O Krishna, it hath been said, is the duty that should be
followed by the Kshatriyas, viz., to bring others under sway by the
exhibition of prowess and then to treat them as slaves. Having gathered
these monarchs with the intention of offering them as sacrifices unto
the god, how shall I, O Krishna, from fear liberate them to-day, when I
recollect also the duty I have recited of a Kshatriya? With troops
against troops arrayed in order of battle, or alone against one, or
against two, or against three, at the same time or separately, I am
ready to fight.'"
Vaisampayana said,--"Having spoken thus, and desiring to fight with
those heroes of terrible achievements, king Jarasandha ordered (his
son) Sahadeva to be installed on the throne. Then, O bull of the
Bharata race, the king, on the eve of battle, thought of his two
generals Kausika and Chitrasena. These two, O king, were formerly
called by everybody in the world of men by the respectful appellations
of Hansa and Dimvaka. And, O monarch, that tiger among men, the lord
Sauri ever devoted to truth, the slayer of Madhu, the younger brother
of Haladhara, the foremost of all persons having their senses under
complete control, keeping in view the command of Brahma and remembering
that the ruler of Magadha was destined to be slain in battle by Bhima
and not by the descendant of Madhu (Yadavas), desired not to slay
himself king Jarasandha, that foremost of all men endued with strength,
that hero possessed of the prowess of a tiger, that warrior of terrible
valour."