03.036
Pancharatra: Bhima again insists not to wait for 13 years, to wage a war.
Bhīmasena said.
Having made an agreement, time, death, Garuda, Ananta, the immeasurable, the current, and the all-destroying force take everything away. (3-36-1)
You consider time to be directly perceived; the mortal, being bound by time, is like foam, O great king, and also like fruit in the same way. (3-36-2)
O son of Kunti, since one's lifespan is diminished even by a blink, just as collyrium powder falls from a needle, why should one wait thus? (3-36-3)
Whoever might have an immeasurable lifespan, or even one who knows the measure, should indeed wait for the right time, being one who has directly witnessed everything. (3-36-4)
O king, as we wait, time will reduce our lifespan by thirteen years and will eventually lead us to death. (3-36-5)
Death is always present in the body of embodied beings. Therefore, before death comes, let us strive for the kingdom. (3-36-6)
He who does not attain discernment, who is unclear and only increases the ground, without resolving enmities, sinks like a cow. (3-36-7)
I consider the birth of a man who, being of little strength and effort, does not remove enmity, to be fruitless and as one born of a bad lineage. (3-36-8)
O king, your two arms are golden; fame will be yours. Having slain the enemy in battle, you will enjoy the wealth acquired by your arms. (3-36-9)
O king, if a man kills the slayer, O destroyer of enemies, for the sake of the day, he would go to hell; but he is considered as having attained heaven. (3-36-10)
The suffering born of impatience is truly more intense than fire; tormented by it, I am unable to sleep either at night or during the day. (3-36-11)
And this Pārtha, Bībhatsu, the foremost in drawing the bowstring, sits here deeply tormented, surely like a lion in its den. (3-36-12)
He who considers all the archers in the world as one, this very person sends his own fiery son like a great elephant. (3-36-13)
Nakul, Sahadev, and the aged mother, the mother of heroes, wishing only for your favor, sit silently like those who are dull and mute. (3-36-14)
All the relatives together with the Sṛñjayas desire what is dear; I alone am greatly afflicted, and so is the mother from Prativindhya. (3-36-15)
I speak only what is dear to everyone, and whatever else as well; all have certainly met with misfortune, and all are now eager for battle. (3-36-16)
O king, some more sinful calamity will occur, because our kingdom, having been seized by low and weak people, is being enjoyed. (3-36-17)
O Parantapa, O king, because of a fault in conduct and being possessed by compassion, you endure hardships out of compassion; no one else is praised for this. (3-36-18)
You are compassionate and have the form of a brāhmaṇa; how were you born in the kṣatriya caste? For in this womb, mostly those with cruel intellect are born. (3-36-19)
You have heard the kingly duties as Manu indeed spoke—those that are cruel, associated with deceit, prescribed, and of a restless nature. (3-36-20)
O best of men, why do you remain inactive in your duty like a coiled snake? You are endowed with intelligence, strength, learning, and noble birth. (3-36-21)
O son of Kunti, you wish to cover the mountain Himavat with a single fistful of grass; you who wish to destroy us. (3-36-22)
O Pārtha, just as the sun, being renowned, cannot move about in the sky unnoticed, so too you, being famous, cannot move about on earth in secrecy. (3-36-23)
How will the victorious one, like a great-shaded tree in the marsh, full of branches, flowers, and leaves, or like a white elephant unnoticed, move about? (3-36-24)
O Partha, how will these two brothers, Nakula and Sahadeva, who are like lions and still children, live together? (3-36-25)
O Pārtha, how will Draupadī, the princess of virtuous fame, well-known as Kṛṣṇā, who is like a hero and the sun, live in obscurity? (3-36-26)
O king, these subjects know me from my childhood; I see my secret life as concealed as that of Meru. (3-36-27)
In the same way, many kings and princes devoted to Dhritarashtra have also been banished from their kingdoms by us. (3-36-28)
Indeed, even when the deceivers are driven away, they are not pacified. Certainly, those among us who seek their favor must be cut off by them. (3-36-29)
They too might employ many hidden people among us; if they come to know and inform about us, that could cause us very great fear. (3-36-30)
We have properly spent thirteen months in the forest. By calculation, see how many years those amount to. (3-36-31)
There is a month that serves as a substitute, as the sages have said; just as there are surrogates for Soma, let this be done in the same way. (3-36-32)
Now, O king, the cowherd, the virtuous one, and the leader of the good are freed from sin by a single act of giving friendship. (3-36-33)
Therefore, O king, resolve yourself to slay the enemy. For all kṣatriyas, there is no other duty than battle. (3-36-34)
