“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, thy prosperity increaseth. O best of men, thy foe hath
been slain. By good luck, thy younger brother hath 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, “Ye mighty car-warriors, by good luck, I
behold both of you after ye have accomplished your task. By good luck,
that sinful wretch, viz., the ruler of the Sindhus, hath been slain. Ye
Krishnas, by good luck, ye have done that which hath filled me with great
happiness. By good luck, our foes have been plunged into an ocean of
grief. Thou art the sovereign lord of all the worlds, O slayer of Madhu!
In the three worlds they that have thee for their preceptor can have no
object incapable of accomplishment. Through thy 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 thou of the Vrishni race, in their case with
whom thou art gratified, O giver of honours! They can have no sin, nor
can they meet with defeat in battle with whom thou, O lord of the
celestials, art gratified, O giver of honours! It is through thy grace, O
Hrishikesa, that Sakra hath become the chief of the celestials. It is
through thy grace, that blessed personage obtained on the field of battle
the sovereignty of the three worlds! It is through thy 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 thy grace, O slayer of foes, Sakra obtained
the lordship of the celestials. Through thy grace, O Hrishikesa, the
mobile and immobile universe, without swerving from its (ordained)
course, O hero, is engaged in prayers and homa![178] In the beginning,
this universe, enveloped in darkness, had been one vast expanse of water.
Through thy grace, O mighty-armed one, the universe became manifest, O
best of men! Thou art the creator of all the worlds, thou art the Supreme
Soul, and thou art immutable! They that behold thee, O Hrishikesa, are
never confounded. Thou art the Supreme God, thou art the God of gods, and
thou art Eternal. They that seek refuge with thee, O lord of the gods,
are never confounded. Without beginning and without death, thou art
Divine, the Creator of all the worlds, and immutable. They that are
devoted to thee, O Hrishikesa, always tide over every difficulty. Thou
art Supreme, the Ancient one, the Divine-Being, and that which is the
Highest of the high. He that attaineth to that viz., thy Supreme Self
hath ordained for him the highest prosperity. Thou art sung in the four
Vedas. The four Vedas sing of thee. Be seeking thy shelter, O high-souled
one, I shall enjoy unrivalled prosperity. Thou art the Supreme God, thou
art the God of the highest gods, thou art the lord of Winged creatures,
and the lord of all human beings. Thou art the Supremest Lord of
everything. I bow to thee, O best of beings! Thou art the Lord, the Lord
of lords O puissant one! Prosperity to thee, O Madhava! O thou of large
eyes, O Universal soul, Thou art the origin of all things. He, again,
that is a friend of Dhananjaya or is engaged in Dhananjaya’s good,
obtaineth thee that art the preceptor of Dhananjaya and attaineth 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, hath been consumed by the fire of thy wrath. O
puissant one, although the Dhartarashtra host is vast and swelleth with
pride, yet, O Bharata, struck and slain, it is being exterminated. O
slayer of foes, it is in consequence of thy wrath that the Kauravas are
being destroyed. Having, O hero, angered thee that canst slay with thy
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
thy ire, and struck down also by the gods themselves, the invincible
Bhishma, the grandsire of the Kurus, lieth now on a bed of arrows. O
slayer of foes, victory in battle is unattainable by them, and death also
waiteth for them, that have thee, 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 thou, O scorcher of foes, hast been angry. I regard the
Kauravas to be lost with their sons, and kinsmen, when thou, 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 Panchalas. 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, ye heroes, escaped with life 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).[179] By good luck, I see
both of you victorious in battle. By good luck, Drona hath been
vanquished in battle, and that mighty car-warrior also viz., the son of
Hridika. By good luck, Karna hath been vanquished in battle with barbed
shafts. By good luck, Salya also was obliged to turn away from the field
by you both, ye bulls among men. By good luck, I behold you both come
back from battle safe and sound, ye that are foremost of car-warriors and
well-skilled in battle! By good luck, I behold again, ye heroes, that
have forded that sea of troops in obedience to my command, ye that went
to battle impelled by the desire of honouring me! Ye are heroes
delighting in battle. Ye 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.’”