31 "Sanjaya said, 'After those three car-warriors had left that spot, the Pandavas arrived at that lake within which Duryodhana was resting himself. Having reached the banks of the Dvaipayana lake, O chief of Kuru's race, they beheld that receptacle of waters enchanted by thy son. Then Yudhishthira, addressing Vasudeva, said, "Behold, the son of Dhritarashtra hath applied his power of illusion to these waters! Having enchanted the waters, he lieth within them. He can have now no fear (of injury) from man! Having invoked a celestial illusion, he is now within the waters! By an act of deception, that wight conversant with every deception hath sought this refuge! He shall not, however, escape me with life! Even if the wielder of the thunderbolt himself aid him in battle, people, O Madhava, shall yet behold him slain today!"
"'Vasudeva said, "With thy own powers of illusion, O Bharata, destroy this illusion of Duryodhana who is an adept in it! One conversant with illusion should be slain with illusion! This is the truth, O Yudhishthira! With acts and means and applying thy power of illusion to these waters, slay, O chief of the Bharatas, this Suyodhana, who is the very soul of illusion! With acts and means Indra himself slew the Daityas and the Danavas! Vali himself was bound by that high-souled one (Upendra), with the aid of many acts and means! The great Asura Hiranyaksha, as also that other one, Hiranyakasipu, was slain by the aid of many acts and means. Without doubt, O king, Vritra also was slain by the aid of acts! Similarly was the Rakshasa Ravana of Pulastya's race, with his relatives and followers, slain by Rama! Relying upon acts and contrivances, do thou also display thy powers! Those two ancient Daityas, Taraka and Viprachitti of great energy, were in ancient times, O king, slain by the aid of acts and means! Similarly, Vatapi and Ilwala, and Trisiras, O lord, and the Asuras Sunda and Upasunda, were all slain by the aid of means! Indra himself enjoys heaven by the aid of acts and means! Acts are very efficacious, O king, and nothing else so, O Yudhishthira! Daityas and Danavas and Rakshasas and kings had been slain by the aid of acts and means. Do thou take therefore, the help of act!"'
"Sanjaya continued, 'Thus addressed by Vasudeva, Pandu's son of rigid vows, smiling the while, addressed, O monarch, thy son of great might, who, O Bharata, was then within the waters of that lake, saying, "Why, O Suyodhana, hast thou entered these waters, after having caused all the Kshatriyas to perish and after having, O king, caused thy own race to be annihilated? Why hast thou entered into this lake today, wishing to save thy own life? Arise, O king, and fight us, O Suyodhana! Where, O foremost of men, hath that pride and that sense of honour which thou hadst now gone, since, O king, thou hast enchanted these waters and art now lying within them? All men speak of thee in assemblies as a hero. All that, however, is entirely untrue, I think, since thou art now concealed within these waters! Arise, O king, and fight, for thou art a Kshatriya born of a noble race! Thou art Kauraveya in particular! Remember thy birth! How canst thou boast of thy birth in Kuru's race when thou concealest thyself within the depths of this lake, having fled away from battle in fear? This is not the eternal duty of a Kshatriya, staying away from battle! Flight from battle, O king, is not the practice of those that are honourable, nor does it lead to heaven! How is it that without having attained to the end of this war, inspired though thou wert with the desire of victory, thou stayest now within this lake, after having caused and witnessed the slaughter of thy sons and brothers and sires and relatives and friends and maternal uncles and kinsmen? Ever boastful of thy courage, thou art, however, not a hero! Falsely dost thou describe thyself, O Bharata, when thou sayst in the hearing of all men that thou art a hero, O thou of wicked understanding! They that are heroes never fly away at sight of foes! Or, tell us, O hero, about (the nature of) that courage in consequence of which thou hast fled from battle! Arise, O prince, and fight, casting off thy fears! Having caused all thy troops and thy brothers to be slain, O Suyodhana, thou shouldst not, if thou art inspired with righteous motives, think now of saving thy life! One like thee, O Suyodhana, that has adopted Kshatriya duties, should not act in this way! Relying upon Karna, as also upon Shakuni the son of Subala, thou hadst regarded thyself immortal and hadst, from folly, failed to understand thy own self! Having perpetrated such grievous sin, fight now, O Bharata! How dost that flight from battle recommend itself to one like thee? Surely, thou forgettest thyself! Where is that manliness of thine, O sire, and where, O Suyodhana, is that pride cherished by thee! Where hath that prowess of thine now gone, and where also that swelling and great energy which thou hadst? Where is that accomplishment of thine in weapons? Why dost thou lie within this lake now? Arise, O Bharata, and fight, observing the duties of a Kshatriya! Either rule the wide earth after vanquishing us, or sleep, O Bharata, on the bare ground, slain by us! Even this is thy highest duty, as laid down by the illustrious Creator himself! Act as it has been laid down truly in the scriptures, and be a king, O great car-warrior!"'
"Sanjaya continued, 'Thus addressed, O monarch, by the intelligent son of Dharma, thy son answered him from within the waters in these words.
"'Duryodhana said, "It is not at all a matter of surprise, O king, that fear should enter the hearts of living creatures. As regards myself, however, O Bharata, I have not fled from the field of battle actuated by the fear of life! My car was destroyed, my quivers were gone, and my Parshni drivers were killed! I was alone, without a single follower to stand by me in battle! It was for this that I desired a little rest! It was not for the sake of saving my life, it was not from fear, it was not from grief, O king, that I entered these waters! It was only in consequence of fatigue that I did so! Do thou, O son of Kunti, rest a while with those that follow thee! Rising from this lake I will certainly fight all of you in battle!"
"'Yudhishthira said, 'All of us have rested sufficiently. For a long while we were engaged in a search after thee! Rise then, even now, O Suyodhana, and give us battle! Either slaying the Parthas in battle make this kingdom that swelleth with prosperity thy own, or slain by us in battle, proceed to those regions that are reserved for heroes!"
"'Duryodhana said, "They amongst the Kurus, O son of Kurus' race, for whose sake I desired sovereignty, that is, those brothers of mine, O king, all lie dead on the field! I do not, again, like to enjoy any longer the earth that is now shorn of wealth and reft of superior Kshatriyas, and that hath, therefore, become like a widowed lady! I, however, still hope to vanquish thee, O Yudhishthira, after curbing the pride, O bull of Bharata's race, of the Pancalas and the Pandus! There is, however, no longer any need for battle when Drona and Karna have been quieted and when our grandsire Bhishma hath been slain! This shorn earth, O king, now exists for thee! What king is there that would like to rule a kingdom divested of friends and allies? Having caused friends such as I had to be slain and even sons and brothers and sires, and seeing my kingdom wrested by you, who is there like myself that would like to live? Clad in deer-skins I would retire into the woods! I have no desire for kingdom, deprived as I am of friends and allies, O Bharata! Reft almost entirely of friends and allies, of heroes and elephants, this earth exists for thee, O king! Do thou enjoy her now cheerfully! As for myself, clad in deerskins, I shall go to the woods! Friendless as I am, I have no desire, O lord, for even life! Go, O monarch, and rule the earth destitute of lords, without warriors, reft of wealth, and without citadels, as thou choosest!"'
"Sanjaya continued, 'Hearing these words of poignant grief the illustrious Yudhishthira addressed thy son Duryodhana who was still within those waters, saying, "Do not utter such ravings of sorrow, O sire, from within the waters! I do not, like Shakuni, feel any compassion for thee, O king, for such words as these! Thou mayest now, O Suyodhana, be willing to make a gift of the earth to me. I, however, do not wish to rule the earth thus given by thee! I cannot sinfully accept this earth from thee! Acceptance of a gift, O king, is not the duty laid down for a Kshatriya! I do not, therefore, wish to have the wide earth thus given away by thee! I shall, on the other hand, enjoy the earth after vanquishing thee in battle! Thou art now the lord of the earth! Why then dost thou desire to make a gift of that over which thou hast no dominion? Why, O king, didst thou not then give us the earth when we, observant of the rules of righteousness and desirous of the welfare of our race, had begged thee for our portion? Having first refused the request of the mighty Krishna, why dost thou now desire to give away the earth? What is this folly of thine? What king is there, who, assailed by foes, would wish to give away his kingdom? O son of Kuru's race, today thou art not competent to give away the earth! Why then dost thou wish to make a gift of that over which thou hast no power? Vanquishing me in battle, rule thou this earth! Thou didst not formerly agree to give me even that much of the earth which would be covered by the point of a needle! How then, O monarch, dost thou make me a gift of the whole earth? How is it that thou, who couldst not formerly abandon even that much of land which the point of a needle would cover, now wishest to abandon the whole earth? What fool is there that would, after having obtained such prosperity and ruled the entire earth, think of making a gift of that earth to his enemies? Stupefied by folly, thou seest not the impropriety of this! Although thou desirest to give away the earth, thou shalt not yet escape me with life! Either rule the earth after having vanquished us, or go to regions of blessedness after being slain by us! If both of us, that is, thyself and myself, be alive, then all creatures will remain in doubt about to whom the victory belongs. Thy life, O thou of limited foresight, now depends upon me! If I like, I can suffer thee to live, but thou art not capable of protecting thy own life! Thou hadst at one time especially endeavoured to burn us to death and to take our lives by means of snakes and other kinds of poison and by drowning us! We were also wronged by thee, O king, by the deprivation of our kingdom, by the cruel words spoken by thee, and by thy maltreatment of Draupadi! For these reasons, O wretch, thy life must be taken! Rise, rise, and fight us! That will benefit thee!"'
"Sanjaya continued, 'In this strain, O king, those heroes, the Pandavas, flushed with victory, repeatedly spoke there (rebuking and mocking Duryodhana).'"
32 (Gada-yuddha Parva) "Dhritarashtra said, 'Thus admonished (by his foes), how, indeed, did that scorcher of enemies, my heroic and royal son, who was wrathful by nature, then behave? He had never before listened to admonitions such as these! He had, again, been treated by all with the respect due to a king! He, who had formerly grieved to stand in the shade of an umbrella, thinking he had taken another's shelter, he, who could not endure the very effulgence of the sun in consequence of his sensitive pride, how could he endure these words of his foes? Thou hast, with thy own eyes, O Sanjaya, seen the whole earth, with even her Mlecchas and nomad tribes, depend upon his grace! Rebuked thus at that spot by the sons of Pandu in particular, while lying concealed in such a solitary place after having been deprived of his followers and attendants, alas, what answer did he make unto the Pandavas upon hearing such bitter and repeated taunts from his victorious enemies? Tell me everything, O Sanjaya, about it!'
"Sanjaya continued, 'Thus rebuked, O monarch, by Yudhishthira and his brothers, thy royal son, lying within those waters, O king of kings, heard those bitter words and became very miserable. Breathing hot and long sighs repeatedly, the king waved his arms again and again, and setting his heart on battle, thus answered, from within the waters, the royal son of Pandu.
"'Duryodhana said, "Ye Parthas, all of you are possessed of friends, of cars, and of animals! I, however, am alone, cheerless, without a car, and without an animal! Being alone and destitute of weapons, how can I venture to fight on foot, against numerous foes all well-armed and possessed of cars? Do you, however, O Yudhishthira, fight me one at a time! It is not proper that one should in battle fight many endued with courage, especially when that one is without armour, fatigued, afflicted with calamity, exceedingly mangled in his limbs, and destitute of both animals and troops! I do not entertain the least fear, O monarch, of either thee, or Vrikodara, the son of Pritha, or Phalguna, or Vasudeva, or all the Pancalas, or the twins, or Yuyudhana, or all the other troops thou hast! Standing in battle, alone as I am, I shall resist all of you! The fame, O king, of all righteous men hath righteousness for its basis! I say all this to you, observant of both righteousness and fame! Rising (from this lake), I shall fight all of you in battle! Like the year that gradually meets all the seasons, I shall meet all of you in fight! Wait, ye Pandavas! Like the sun destroying by his energy the light of all stars at dawn, I shall today, though weaponless and carless, destroy all of you possessed of cars and steeds! Today I shall free myself from the debt I owe to the many illustrious Kshatriyas (that have fallen for me), to Bahlika and Drona and Bhishma and the high-souled Karna, to the heroic Jayadratha and Bhagadatta, to Shalya the ruler of the Madras and Bhurishrava, to my sons, O chief of Bharata's race, and Shakuni the son of Subala, to all my friends and well-wishers and kinsmen! Today I shall free myself from that debt by slaying thee with thy brothers!" With these words, the (Kuru) king ceased speaking.
"'Yudhishthira said, "By good luck, O Suyodhana, thou knowest the duties of a Kshatriya! By good luck, O thou of mighty arms, thy heart inclineth to battle! By good luck, thou art a hero, O thou of Kuru's race, and, by good luck, thou art conversant with battle, since, single-handed, thou wishest to meet all of us in battle! Fight any one of us, taking whatever weapon thou likest! All of us will stand as spectators here! I grant thee also, O hero, this (other) wish of thy heart, that if thou slayest any of us, thou shalt then become king! Otherwise, slain by us, go to heaven!"
"'Duryodhana said, "A brave man as thou art, if thou grantest me the option of fighting only one of you, this mace that I hold in my hand is the weapon that I select! Let any one amongst you who thinks that he will be my match come forward and fight with me on foot, armed with mace! Many wonderful single combats have occurred on cars! Let this one great and wonderful combat with the mace happen today! Men (while fighting) desire to change weapons. Let the manner of the fight be changed today, with thy permission! O thou of mighty arms, I shall, with my mace, vanquish thee today with all thy younger brothers, as also all the Pancalas and the Srinjayas and all the other troops thou still hast! I do not cherish the least fear, O Yudhishthira, of even Shakra himself!"
"'Yudhishthira said, "Rise, rise, O son of Gandhari, and fight me, Suyodhana! Alone as thou art, fight us, encountering one at a time, thou of great might, armed with thy mace! Be a man, O son of Gandhari, and fight with good care! Today thou shalt have to lay down thy life even if Indra becomes thy ally!"'
"Sanjaya continued, 'That tiger among men, thy son, could not bear these words of Yudhishthira. He breathed long and heavy sighs from within the water like a mighty snake from within its hole. Struck repeatedly with such wordy goads, he could not endure it at all, like a horse of high breed that cannot endure the whip. Agitating the waters with great force, that valiant warrior rose like a prince of elephants from within the lake, breathing heavily in rage, and armed with his heavy mace that was endued with the strength of adamant and decked with gold. Piercing the solidified waters, thy son rose, shouldering his mace of iron, like the sun himself scorching everything with his rays. Endued with great strength, thy son, possessed of great intelligence, began to handle his heavy mace made of iron and equipped with a sling. Beholding him armed with mace and resembling a crested mountain or the trident-wielding Rudra himself casting angry glances on living creatures, they observed that Bharata chief shedding an effulgence around like the scorching sun himself in the sky. Indeed, all creatures then regarded that mighty-armed chastiser of foes, as he stood shouldering his mace after rising from the waters, looking like the Destroyer himself armed with his bludgeon. Indeed, all the Pancalas then saw thy royal son to look like the thunder-wielding Shakra or the trident-bearing Hara. Seeing him, however, rise from within the waters, all the Pancalas and the Pandavas began to rejoice and seize each other's hands. Thy son Duryodhana regarded that action of the spectators to be an insult directed towards him. Rolling his eyes in wrath, and as if burning the Pandavas with his glances, and contracting his brow into three furrows, and repeatedly biting his nether lip, he addressed the Pandavas with Keshava in their midst, saying, "You Pandavas, you shall have to bear the fruit of these taunts! Slain by me today, you shall, with the Pancalas, have to repair to the abode of Yama!"'
"Sanjaya continued, 'Rising from the water, thy son Duryodhana stood there, armed with mace, and with limbs bathed in blood. Covered with blood and drenched with water, his body then looked like a mountain shedding water from within. As he stood armed with mace, the Pandavas regarded him to be the angry son of Surya himself armed with the bludgeon called Kinkara. With voice deep as that of the clouds or of a bull roaring in joy, Duryodhana then, of great prowess, armed with his mace, summoned the Parthas to battle.'
"'Duryodhana said, "You will have, O Yudhishthira, to encounter me one at a time! It is not proper, that one hero should fight with many at the same time, especially when that single warrior is divested of armour, fatigued with exertion, covered with water, exceedingly mangled in limbs, and without cars, animals and troops! Let the gods in heaven behold me fight single-handed destitute of all equipment and deprived of even armour and weapons! I shall certainly fight all of you! Thou shalt be judge, as thou hast the necessary qualifications, of the propriety and impropriety of everything!"
"'Yudhishthira said, "How is it, O Duryodhana, that thou hadst not this knowledge when many great car-warriors, uniting together, slew Abhimanyu in battle? Kshatriya duties are exceedingly cruel, unmindful of all considerations, and without the least compassion! Otherwise, how could you slay Abhimanyu under those circumstances? All of you were acquainted with righteousness! All of you were heroes! All of you were prepared to lay down your lives in battle! The high end declared for those that fight righteously is the attainment of the regions of Shakra! If this be your duty, that one should never be slain by many, why is it then that Abhimanyu was slain by many, acting in accord with thy counsels? All creatures, when in difficulty forget considerations of virtue. They then view the gates of the other world to be closed. Put on armour, O hero, and bind thy locks! Take everything else, O Bharata, of which thou standest in need! This another wish of thine, O hero, I grant thee in addition, that if thou canst slay him amongst the five Pandavas with whom thou wishest an encounter, thou shalt then be king! Otherwise, slain (by him), thou shalt proceed to heaven! Except thy life, O hero, tell us what boon we may grant thee."
"Sanjaya continued, 'Then thy son, O king, cased his body with armour made of gold, and put on a beautiful head-gear adorned with pure gold. Clad in bright armour of gold, he put on that head-gear. Indeed, O king, thy son then looked resplendent like a golden cliff. Clad in mail, armed with mace, and accoutred with other equipments, thy son Duryodhana then, O king, standing on the field of battle, addressed all the Pandavas, saying, "Amongst you (five) brothers, let any one fight me, armed with mace! As regards myself, I am willing to fight either Sahadeva, or Bhima, or Nakula, or Phalguna, or thee today, O bull of Bharata's race! Accorded an encounter, I will fight any one amongst you and will certainly gain the victory on the field! Today I will reach the end of these hostilities that is difficult to reach, with the aid, O tiger among men, of my mace wrapped with cloth of gold. I think, there is none to be my match in an encounter with the mace! With my mace I shall slay all of you one after another! Amongst all of you there is no one who is competent to fight fairly with me! It is not proper for me to speak such words of pride with respect to my own self! I shall, however, make these words of mine true in your presence! Within this very hour, these words will become either true or false! Let him amongst you take up the mace that will fight with me!"'"
33 "Sanjaya said, 'Whilst Duryodhana, O king, was repeatedly roaring in this strain, Vasudeva, filled with wrath, said these words unto Yudhishthira, "What rash words hast thou spoken, O king, to the effect, 'Slaying one amongst us be thou king among the Kurus.' If, indeed, O Yudhishthira, Duryodhana select thee for battle, or Arjuna, or Nakula, or Sahadeva (what will be the consequence)? From desire of slaying Bhimasena, O king, for these thirteen years hath Duryodhana practised with the mace upon a statue of iron! How then, O bull of Bharata's race, will our purpose be achieved? From compassion, O best of kings, thou hast acted with great rashness! I do not at this moment behold a match (for Duryodhana) except Pritha's son Vrikodara! His practice, again, with the mace, is not so great! Thou hast, therefore, once more allowed a wretched game of chance to commence as that one in former days between thyself and Shakuni, O monarch! Bhima is possessed of might and prowess. King Suyodhana, however, is possessed of skill! In a contest between might and skill, he that is possessed of skill, O king, always prevails! Such a foe, O king, thou hast, by thy words, placed in a position of ease and comfort! Thou hast placed thine own self, however, in a position of difficulty. We have, in consequence of this, been placed in great danger! Who is there that would abandon sovereignty within grasp, after having vanquished all his foes and when he hath only one foe to dispose of and that one plunged in difficulties? I do not see that man in the world today, be he a god, who is competent to vanquish the mace-armed Duryodhana in battle! Neither thou nor Bhima, nor Nakula nor Sahadeva, nor Phalguna, is capable of vanquishing Duryodhana in fair fight! King Duryodhana is possessed of great skill! How then, O Bharata, canst thou say unto such a foe words such as these, 'Fight, selecting the mace as thy weapon, and if thou canst slay one amongst us, thou shalt then be king?' If Duryodhana encounters Vrikodara amongst us wishing to fight fairly with him, even then our victory would be doubtful. Duryodhana is possessed of great might and great skill. How couldst thou say unto him, 'Slaying only one amongst us be thou king'? Without a doubt, the offspring of Pandu and Kunti are not destined to enjoy sovereignty! They were born for passing their lives in continued exile in the woods or in mendicancy!"
"'Bhimasena said, "O slayer of Madhu, do not, O delighter of the Yadus, give way to sorrow! However, difficult to reach it, I shall today reach the end of these hostilities! Without doubt, I shall slay Suyodhana in battle! It appears, O Krishna, that the victory of Yudhishthira the just is certain! This mace of mine is heavier than Duryodhana's by one and a half times! Do not, O Madhava, give way to grief! I dare fight him, selecting the mace as the weapon! Let all of you, O Janardana, stand as spectators of the encounter! What do you say of Suyodhana, I would fight with the three worlds including the very gods, even if they be armed with every kind of weapon!"'
"Sanjaya continued, 'After Vrikodara had said these words, Vasudeva, filled with joy, applauded him highly and said unto him, "Relying on thee, O thou of mighty arms, king Yudhishthira the just will, without doubt, get back his own blazing prosperity after the slaughter of all his foes! Thou hast slain all the sons of Dhritarashtra in battle! At thy hands many kings and princes and elephants have met with their fate! The Kalingas, the Magadhas, the Kauravas, the Westerners, the Gandharas have all been slain in dreadful battle, O son of Pandu! Slaying Duryodhana then, O son of Kunti, bestow the earth with her oceans upon Yudhishthira the just, like Vishnu (conferring the sovereignty of three worlds) upon the Lord of Sachi! The wretched son of Dhritarashtra, obtaining thee for a foe in battle, will, without doubt, meet with his fate! Thou wilt certainly accomplish thy vow by breaking his bones! Thou shouldst, however, O son of Pritha, always fight with care with the son of Dhritarashtra! He is possessed of both skill and strength and always takes delight in battle!" Then Satyaki, O king, applauded the son of Pandu. The Pancalas and the Pandavas, also, headed by king Yudhishthira the just, all applauded those words of Bhimasena. Then Bhima of terrible might addressed Yudhishthira, who was staying amid the Srinjayas like the blazing sun himself, saying, "Encountering this one in battle, I venture to fight with him! This wretch among men is not competent to vanquish me in fight! Today I shall vomit that wrath which hath been nursed in my bosom upon Suyodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra, like Arjuna throwing fire on the forest of Khandava! I shall today pluck out the dart, O son of Pandu, that lay so long sticking to thy heart! Be happy, O king, after I shall have laid low this wretch with my mace! Today I shall recover, O sinless one, thy wreath of glory! Today Suyodhana shall abandon his life breath, his prosperity, and his kingdom! Today king Dhritarashtra also, hearing of his son's slaughter, will remember all those wrongs (that he did unto us) arising from the suggestions of Shakuni!" Having said these words that prince of Bharata's race, possessed of great energy, stood up for battle, like Shakra summoning Vritra (to an encounter). Unable to endure that summons, thy son, of great energy, proceeded to the encounter, like one infuriated elephant proceeding to assail another. The Pandavas beheld thy son, as he came armed with mace, look like the crested mountain of Kailasa. Indeed, seeing that mighty son of thine standing alone like a prince of elephants separated from the herd, the Pandavas became filled with delight. Standing in battle like a very lion, Duryodhana had no fear, no alarm, no pain, no anxiety. Beholding him stand there with uplifted mace like the crested mountain of Kailasa, Bhimasena, O monarch, addressed him, saying, "Call to thy mind all those wrongs that king Dhritarashtra and thyself have done unto us! Recollect what happened at Varanavata! Recollect how Draupadi, while in her season, was maltreated in the midst of the assembly and how king Yudhishthira was defeated at dice through Shakuni's suggestion! See now, O thou of wicked soul, the terrible consequence of those acts as also of the other wrongs that thou didst unto the innocent Parthas! It is for thee that that illustrious chief of the Bharatas, the son of Ganga, the grandsire of us all, lieth now on a bed of arrows, struck down (by us)! Drona also hath been slain! Karna hath been slain! Shalya of great valour hath been slain! Yonder Shakuni also, the root of these hostilities, hath been slain in battle! Thy heroic brothers, as also thy sons, with all thy troops, have been slain! Other kings also, possessed of heroism, and never retreating from battle, have been slain. These and many other bulls among Kshatriyas, as also the Pratikamin, that wretch who had seized the tresses of Draupadi, have been slain! Thou alone art still alive, thou exterminator of thy race, thou wretch among men! Thee also I shall today slay with my mace! Of this there is no doubt! Today, O king, I shall, in battle, quell all thy pride! I shall destroy also thy hope of sovereignty, O king, and pay off all thy misdeeds unto the sons of Pandu!"
"'Duryodhana said, "What use is there of many words? Fight now with me! Today, O Vrikodara, I shall beat out of thee thy desire for battle! Why dost thou not behold me, O wretch, standing here for an encounter with the mace? Am I not armed with a formidable mace that looks like a cliff of Himavat? What foe is there, O wretch, that would venture to vanquish me armed with this weapon? If it be a fair fight, Purandara himself, amongst the gods, is not competent for that end! For all those wicked deeds of mine to which thou hast referred, thou couldst not (hitherto) do me the slightest injury! By exercising my might, I caused ye to dwell in the woods, to serve in another's dwelling, to conceal yourselves in disguises! Your friends and allies also have been slain. Our loss has been equal! If, then my fall takes place in this battle, that would be highly praiseworthy. Or, perhaps, Time will be the cause! Up to this day I have never been vanquished in fair fight on the field of battle! If you vanquish me by deceit, your infamy will certainly last for ever! That act of yours will, without doubt, be unrighteous and infamous! Do not, O son of Kunti, roar fruitlessly in this way like autumnal clouds uncharged with water! Show all the strength thou hast in battle now!" Hearing these words of his, the Pandavas with the Srinjayas, all inspired with desire of victory, applauded them highly. Like men exciting an infuriated elephant with clapping of hands, all of them then gladdened king Duryodhana (with those praises and cheers). The elephants that were there began to grunt and the steeds to neigh repeatedly. The weapons of the Pandavas, who were inspired with desire of victory blazed forth of their own accord.'"