“Dhritarashtra said, ‘Hearing, O Sanjaya, of the slaughter, by
unrighteous means, of his aged sire, by Dhrishtadyumna, what did the
valiant Aswatthaman say, he, that is, in whom human and Varuna and Agneya
and Brahma and Aindra and Narayana weapons are always present? Indeed,
learning that the preceptor, that foremost of virtuous men, had been
unrighteously slain by Dhrishtadyumna in battle, what did Aswatthaman
say? The high-souled Drona, having obtained the science of weapons from
Rama have imparted (a knowledge of) all the celestial weapons unto his
son desirous of seeing the latter adorned with all the accomplishments
(of a warrior). There is only one person in this world, viz., the son,
and none else, whom people desire to become superior to themselves. All
high-souled preceptors have this characteristic, viz., that they impart
all the mysteries of their science unto either sons or devoted disciples.
Becoming his sire’s pupil, O Sanjaya, and obtaining all those mysteries
with every detail, the son of Saradwat’s daughter has become a second
Drona, and a great hero. Aswatthaman is equal to Karna in knowledge of
weapons, to Purandara in battle, to Kartavirya in energy, and Vrihaspati
in wisdom. In fortitude, that youth is equal to a mountain, and in energy
to fire. In gravity, he is equal to an ocean, and in wrath, to the poison
of the snake. He is the foremost of all car-warriors in battle, a firm
bowman, and above all fatigue. In speed he is equal to the wind itself
and he careens in the thick of fight like Yama in rage. While his engaged
in shooting arrows in battle, the very earth becomes afflicted. Of
prowess incapable of being baffled, that hero is never fatigued by
exertions. Purified by the Vedas and by vows, he is a thorough master of
the science of arms, like Rama, the son of Dasaratha. He is like the
ocean, incapable of being agitated. Hearing that the preceptor, that
foremost of righteous persons, had been unrighteously slain in battle by
Dhrishtadyumna, what, indeed, did Aswatthaman say? Aswatthaman hath been
ordained to be the slayer of Dhrishtadyumna, even as Yajnasena’s son, the
prince of the Panchalas, was ordained to be the slayer of Drona. What,
O Suta, did Aswatthaman say, hearing that his sire, the preceptor, had been
slain by the cruel, sinful, and mean Dhrishtadyumna of little foresight?’”