10.009
Sanjaya said:
Having killed all the Pāñcālas and the sons of Draupadī, they all together went to the place where Duryodhana lay slain.
After going there, they saw that the king still had some life left. Then, getting down from their chariots, they surrounded your son.
O King, they saw him lying on the ground with a broken thigh, struggling to breathe, unconscious, and vomiting blood from his mouth.
It was surrounded on all sides by many fearsome beasts of prey, including packs of jackals and wolves, who were about to devour it from close by.
He was with great difficulty preventing those wild beasts who were about to devour me, while I was writhing in intense pain.
The three surviving heroes—Aśvatthāmā, Kṛpa, and Kṛtavarmā—grief-stricken, surrounded the great-souled one lying on the ground, soaked in his own blood.
Surrounded by those three great chariot-warriors, smeared with blood and breathing heavily, the king shone like an altar encircled by three fires.
When they saw the king lying there in such an unbefitting state, the three of them were overcome with unbearable grief and wept.
Then they wiped the blood from the king's face with their hands and, seeing him lying in the battlefield, lamented pitifully.
Kṛpa said:
It is not too much for fate that Duryodhana, the leader of eleven armies, lies here slain and covered in blood.
Look at this mace, adorned with gold, belonging to the one who loves the mace, lying here on the ground.
This mace never leaves this hero in any battle; even when he goes to heaven, it does not forsake the glorious one.
Behold her, adorned with gold, lying on the bed with the hero, in righteousness, like a loving wife.
O scorcher of foes, whoever has gone ahead of those anointed on the head, he, when slain, eats dust. See how time brings change.
He who once slew his enemies in battle and made them lie on the ground, this king of the Kurus now lies slain on the ground himself, struck down by others.
He, whom even hundreds of kings bow to out of fear, now lies on the battlefield, surrounded by flesh-eating beasts.
The kings once worshipped Yama, the lord of death, for the sake of wealth. But now, shame! He lies slain in an instant. Behold the turn of fate and time.
Sanjaya said:
O best among the Bharatas, Aśvatthāman, seeing the best of kings lying there, lamented piteously.
They say that you, O best of kings, are the foremost among all archers, like the lord of wealth in battle, and indeed the disciple of Sankarshana.
O sinless one, how did Bhīmasena discover the cave? Among the strong and accomplished, he always stood out, and so did the wicked-souled, O king.
O great king, truly, time is the most powerful force in this world; if it is so, we see you slain by Bhimasena in battle.
How could Vṛkodara, that mean and sinful one, have killed you, who know all dharmas, by deceit? Surely, it must be the inescapable force of Time at work.
In the righteous battle, when you challenged with strength by unrighteous means, Bhīmasena shattered your thighs with his mace.
Shame be upon Yudhishthira, the mean one, who overlooked the head of the slain being trampled by the foot on the battlefield through unrighteousness.
In battles, warriors will surely speak ill of Vrikodara (Bhima); as long as living beings exist, they will say you were brought down by deceit.
Indeed, Rama always told you, O king and descendant of Yadu, that there is no one equal to Duryodhana in mace fighting, thus spoke the mighty one.
O Bhārata, in assemblies, the descendant of Vṛṣṇi (Kṛṣṇa) indeed praises you, saying, "O lord, my excellent disciple, the Kaurava (Bhīma), is skilled in mace-fighting."
You have attained that state which the supreme sages declare praiseworthy for a kṣatriya: the state attained by one who is slain facing the foe in battle.
Duryodhana, I do not grieve for you, O best of men; but I grieve for Gandhari, whose son has been slain, and for your father. The two of them, as beggars, will wander this earth in grief.
Shame on Kṛṣṇa, the Vṛṣṇi prince, and on Arjuna, the wicked-minded; both, though proud of their knowledge of dharma, are ignoring you as you are being slain.
What will the Pandavas and all those kings say? How will they shamelessly say that Duryodhana was slain by us?
O son of Gandhari, you are truly blessed, for you died in battle, facing your enemies righteously, O best among men.
What will become of Gandhari, whose sons and relatives have been slain, and of the wise and unassailable one? What fate awaits them?
Shame on Kritavarma, myself, Kripa, and the great chariot-warrior; for, even with you leading us, O king, we have not attained heaven.
You are the giver of all desires, the protector, and act for the welfare of the people. Since we do not follow you, shame on us, the lowest among men.
O tiger among men, by the prowess of Kṛpa, by your strength, by mine and my father's, and by my attendants, the houses are filled with jewels.
By your grace, we, along with our friends and relatives, have been able to perform many principal sacrifices that were accompanied by abundant gifts.
Where could we ever find such a caravan as this, led by someone like you, with whom you have visited all the kings?
O king, we three indeed see you going to the highest state. Because we cannot follow you, we shall therefore suffer.
Deprived of your heaven and value, remembering your good deeds, what action could there be by which we might truly follow you?
Indeed, O best of Kurus, we shall live in sorrow on this earth; for us, deprived by you, O king, how can there be peace, how can there be happiness?
O great king, after going to these and gathering the great chariot-warriors, you should honor them according to my instructions, giving precedence to the best and the eldest.
O king, after worshipping the teacher and the banner of all the bowmen, you should announce today that Dhṛṣṭadyumna has been slain by me.
You should embrace King Bahlika, the mighty chariot-warrior, the Sindhu prince Somadatta, and also Bhurishravas.
In this way, from my words, you should embrace the other noble kings who have departed to heaven and inquire about their well-being.
After saying this to the king, who was unconscious and had a broken thigh, Aśvatthāmā looked at him and spoke again.
Duryodhana, if you are still alive, listen to these pleasant words: Seven sons of Pandu remain, and of the sons of Dhritarashtra, only we three are left.
They, along with the five brothers, Vasudeva (Krishna), Satyaki, myself, Kritavarma, and Kripa, the son of Sharadvat, were also present.
O Bhārata, all the sons of Draupadī, the sons of Dhṛṣṭadyumna, all the Pāñcālas, and the remaining Matsyas have been killed.
See, when retaliation is done, the Pāṇḍavas, whose sons were bereaved of their sons, have had their camp, along with men and vehicles, destroyed in the night attack.
O king, it was I who killed this wicked Dhṛṣṭadyumna at night in the camp, using the weapon meant for animal slaughter.
But Duryodhana, after hearing those words that were dear to his heart and regaining his composure, spoke as follows.
Neither I, nor Bhīṣma, nor Karṇa, nor your father did what you, along with Kṛpa and Bhoja, have done to me today.
If the commander, though low, has been killed together with Śikhaṇḍin, then today I think he has made himself equal to Indra indeed.
"May you attain well-being and good, may we meet again in heaven." Having said this, the great-minded king of the Kurus fell silent and released his life, causing grief to his friends.
Thus, having embraced the king again and again, they looked at him and then ascended their own chariots.
Having heard your son's piteous words in this way, I, afflicted by grief, ran towards the city at dawn.
O sinless one, since your son has gone to heaven, my divine vision given by the sage is lost today, as I am afflicted with grief.
Vaiśampāyana said:
Having heard this, the king, upon learning of the killing of his son and kinsmen, sighed deeply and hotly, and then became absorbed in thought.
