of Kshatriya practices,24 where are those lords of Earth, O Brāhmana? I do not see them here, O Nārada! I desire to see, O Nārada, Virāta and Drupada and the other great Kshatriyas headed by Dhrishtaketu,25 as also Cikhandin, the Pānchāla prince, the sons of Draupadi, and Abhimanyu, irresistible in battle!'"26
Section II.
"Yudhishthira said,—'Ye deities, I do not see here Rādhā'son of immeasurable prowess, as also my high-souled brothers, and Yudhāmanyu and Uttamaujas,1 those great car-warriors that poured their bodies (as libations) on the fire of battle, those kings and princes that met with death for my sake in battle!2 Where are those great car-warriors that possessed the prowess of tigers? Have those foremost of men acquired this region?3 If those great car-warriors have obtained these regions, then only do you know, ye gods, that I shall reside here with those high-souled ones!4 If this auspicious and eternal region has not been acquired by those kings, then know, ye gods, that without those brothers and kinsmen of mine, I shall not live here!5 At the time of performing the water rites (after the battle), I heard my mother say,—Do thou offer oblations of water unto Karna!—Since hearing those words of my mother, I am burning with grief.6 I grieve also incessantly at this, ye gods, that when I marked the resemblance between the feet of my mother and those of Karna of immeasurable soul, I did not immediately place myself under the orders of that afflicter of hostile ranks! Ourselves joined with Karna, Cakra himself would have been unable to vanquish in battle![1]7-8 Wherever may that child
- ↑ The allusion is to the fact of Yudhishthira's having marked a close resemblance between the feet of Kunti and those of Karna, and his yearning after Karna which he could not explain. Such was Yudhishthira's abstraction of mind while thinking of that resemblance that he did not hear the cruel speeches of Duryodhana at the Kuru court addressed to him and his brothers after their defeat at dice. It was not till after the battle was over that Yudhishthira learnt who Karna really was.—T.
