Ghosha Yatra Parva — Return to Hastinapur

The Danavas said: O king of kings, O perpetuator of the Bharata race, O Duryodhana, you are always surrounded by heroes and illustrious men.

Why have you then taken this rash step such as this vow of starvation? Suicide always leads (a man) to hell. It becomes the subject of calumnious speech.

Intelligent men like you never engage in acts that are sinful and opposed to their best interests and which strike at the very root of their purposes.

O king, therefore restrain your this resolve. It is destructive of morality, profit and happiness and of fame, prowess and energy. It enhances the joy of one's enemies.

O king, of lord, know the truth, the celestials origin of your birth and the make up of your body; and then assume patience.

O king, in the days of yore, we obtained you from Maheshvara by ascetic austerities. The upper part of your body is wholly made of Vajra (thunder).

On sinless one, therefore it is invincible to weapons of every description. The lower part of your body, capable of captivating the female heart by its comeliness, was made of flowers by the goddess herself.

O foremost of kings, thus your body was created by Ishvara himself and the goddess. Therefore, O best of kings, your origin is celestials and not human.

Other greatly powerful Kshatriyas headed by Bhagadatta, all learned in the celestials weapons, will kill your enemies.

Therefore there is not need for you grief. You have no cause for fear. In order to help you, many heroic Danavas have been born on earth.

Other Asura will possess Bhishma, Drona and Karna and others. Possessed by the Asuras, those heroes will cast away their kindness and fight with your enemies.

When the Danavas will enter their heart and completely possess them flinging all affection to a distance and becoming hard-hearted, those heroes will then strike every one opposed to them without sparing sons, brothers, fathers, friends, disciples, relatives, even children and old men.

Blinded by ignorance and wrath and impelled by destiny which has been ordained by the creator, those foremost of men with hearts steeped in sin will. O foremost of the Kurus, depopulate the earth by hurling all kinds of weapons with great manliness and strength and always boastfully addressing one another with words such as these, “You will not escape from me today with life.” The five illustrious sons of Pandu will fight with these (heroes).

Possessing great strength and favoured by the fate, they would bring about the destruction of all. Many Daityas and Yakshas, that have been born in the Kshatriya order, will fight with great prowess in battle with your enemies using maces, clubs, lances and various weapons.

O hero, as for the fear of Arjuna in your heart, we have already settled the means of killing Arjuna.

The soul of the killed Naraka has assumed the form of Karna. Recollecting. O hero, his former enmity, he will kill both Keshava (Krishna) and Arjuna.

That great car-warrior, that foremost of all wielders of weapons, proud of his prowess, will vanquish Arjuna in battle, as also all your enemies.

The wielder of thunder (Indra), knowing all this and desirous of saving Savyasachi (Arjuna), will in disguise take away from Karna his ear-rings and armour.

We have therefore appointed hundreds upon hundreds and thousands upon thousand of Daityas and Rakshasas; they are known by the name of Samshaptakas.

These illustrious warriors will kill the heroic Arjuna. Do not therefore grieve. O king, you will rule the whole earth without a rival.

Do not give way to despondency. O descendant of Kuru, this conduct does not suit you. If you die, our party will become weak.

O hero, go, you should never direct your mind in any other course. You are our refuge.

Vaishampayana said : Having thus addressed him, the Daityas embraced that foremost of kings; and those best of the Danavas then cheered that irrepressible hero like a son.

O descendant of Bharata, cheering his mind by soft speeches, they permitted him to depart saying, “Go and attain victory."

When they had given leave to the mighty armed one, (to-depart), that very goddess carried him back to the spot where he had sat down intent upon putting an end to his life.

Having set that hero down and paid him homage, the goddess vanished with the king's permission.

O descendant of Bharata, when she disappeared, the king considered all this to be a dream. (He thought), “I shall defeat the Pandavas in battle."

Duryodhana considered that Karna and the Samshaptaka army were both able to kill that chastiser of foes Partha (Arjuna).

Thus was strengthened the hope of the wicked-minded son of Dhritarashtra, to conquer the Pandavas.

O foremost of Bharatas, Karna also, his soul and mind possessed by Naraka and influenced by the qualities of emotion and darkness, became cagerly desirous of killing Falguni (Arjuna).

Thus those Shanshaptaka various being surrounded by monsters came under sheer infuence of Rajas and Tamas property and intedned to kill Arjuna.

Bhishma, Drona, Kripa and others, their mind possessed by the Danavas. O king, were not so affectionate towards the Pandavas as they were before. The king Suyodhana did not tell this to any one.

At the end of the night, the son of the sun, Karna, thus smilingly spoke to Duryodhana with joined hands.

“No dead man can conquer his foes, it is when he is alive that he can see his good. Where is the good of the dead person and O descendant of Kuru, where is his victory?

Therefore this is no time for grief or fear or death.” Having with his arms embraced that mighty armed hero,

He further said, "O king, rise up. Why do you lie down? O slayer of foes, why do you wish to die?

Fear has possessed you at the sight of Arjuna. I truly promise to you that I will kill Arjuna in battle.

O ruler of men, I swear by my weapons that when thirteen years have passed away, I will bring the sons of Pritha under your subjection."

Having been thus addressed by Karna and having (also) remembered the words of the Daityas and the supplications made by (his brothers), Duryodhana rose up.

Having heard the words of the Daityas, that foremost of men with a firm resolve in his heart arrayed his army full of horses, elephants, chariots and foot soldiers. O king, as it moved on like the waters of the Ganga.

With numerous white umbrellas and pennons and white Chamaras and chariots and elephants and foot soldiers that great army, as is moved on like the waters of the Ganga looked as beautiful as the sky at a season when the clouds have been dispersed and the signs of autumn have been but partially developed.

O king of kings, eulogised as a monarch by the foremost of Brahmanas who all prayed for his victory, that king, Suyodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra, received honours paid to him by innumerable men) with joined hands.

Blazing in great splendour he went in front (of the army) accompanied by Karna, Subala's son, the gambler (Shakuni), Dushashana and all his other brothers, Bhurishrava, Somadatta, the great king Bahlika followed that foremost of kings with various sorts of chariots, horses and excellent elephants. O foremost of kings, within a short time all those perpetuators of the Kuru race entered their own city.