Shalya Parva — Kripa asks Duryodhana to make peace

Sanjaya said Beholding the boxes of cars as also the cars of great warriors and the elephants and footsoldiers, O king, killed in battle-seeing the field of battle appear dreadful like the sporting ground of Rudra-seeing the ignominious death obtained by hundreds and thousands of kings-seeing also the prowess of Partha after the retreat of your son with a sorrowful heart and when your troops, filled with anxiety and fallen into great distress, O Bharata, were deliberating about their next course, hearing also the loud lamentations of the Kaurava warriors that were being smitten and marking the displaced and disordered tokens of great kings, the energetic, old, eloquent and compassionate Kuru leader Kripa, approached king Duryodhana and angrily said to him:-"O Duryodhana, listen, O Bharata, to these words. Having them, O monarch, act according to them, O sinless one, if you like.

There is no path, O monarch, that is better than the duty of battle, Taking recourse to that path, Kshatriyas, O best of Kshatriyas, fight.

He who follows Kshatriya practices, fights with son, father, brother, sister son and maternal uncle and relatives and kinsmen.

If he is killed in battle, there is great merit in it. Similarly, there is great sin if he flies from the field. It is for this that the life of a Kshatriya is exceedingly hard.

I will say a few wholesome words to you about this. After the fall of Bhishma and Drona and the mighty car-warrior Karna, after the slaughter of Jayadratlia and your brothers, O sinless one and your son Lakshmana, what is there now for us to do?

They, upon whom we had laid all burdens and been enjoying the kingdoin, have all repaired to regions of blessedness attainable by persons conversant with the knowledge of Brahma, casting off their bodies.

As regards ourselves, deprived of those great car-warriors of numerous accomplishments, we shall have to pass our time in sorrow, having caused many kings to die.

When all those heroes were alive even then Vibhatsu could not be defeated. Having Krishna, for his cyes, that mighty armed hero is incapable of being defeated by the very gods!

The vast Kaurava army, approaching his monkey-emblem standard that is high as Indra's pole set up in the spring and that is cffulgent as Indra's bow, has always shaken in fear.

At the leonine shouts of Bhimasena and the blare of Panchajanya and the twang of Gandiva, our hearts will be paralyzed.

Moving like flashes of lighting and closing our eyes Arjuna's Gandiva is seen to resemble a circle of fire.

Adorned with pure gold, that bow, as it is shaken, looks like lightning moving about on all directions.

Quick-coursing and white horses endued with the splendour of the Moon or the Kusha grass, that run as if devouring the skies, are yoked to his car.

Urged on by Krishna, like masses of clouds driven by the wind and decked with golden trappings, they hear Arjuna to battle.

That foremost of warriors, Arjuna, burnt that great force of yours like a rising fire consuming dry grass in the forest in the winter.

Possessed of the splendour of Indra himself, while penetrating into our army we have seen Dhananjaya look like an elephant with four tusks.

While agitating your army and terrorizing the kings we have seen Dhananjaya resemble an elephant agitating a lake full of lotuses.

While terrifying all the warriors with the twang of his bow, we have again seen the son of Pandu resemble a lion striking terror to sinaller aniinals.

Those two foremost of bowinen in all the worlds, viz., the two Krishnas clad in mail, are looking highly beautiful.

Today is the seventeenth day of this dreadful battle, O Bharata, of those that are being killed in the midst of this fight.

The diverse detachments of your army are routed and dispersed like autumnal clouds scattered by the wind.

Savyasachin, O monarch, made your army tremble and reel like a boat exposed to danger by a storm on the bosom of the ocean.

Where was the Suta's son, where was, I, where were you, where was Hridika's son, where your brother Dussasana accompanied by his brothers, when Jayadratha was slain?

Upon holding Jayadratha and finding him within the range of his arrows, Arjuna, displaying his prowess upon all your kinsmen and brothers and allies and maternal uncles and placing his feet upon their heads, killed king Jayadratha before us all. What then is there for us to do now? Who is there among your troops now that would defeat the son of Pandu?

Thai high-souled warrior is a master of many sorts of celestial weapons. The twang, of Gandiva, deprives us of our energies.

This army of yours that is now without a leader is like a night without the Moon or like a river that is dried up with all the trees on its banks broken by elephants.

The mighty-armed Arjuna of white horses will, at his pleasure, move about amidst your army having no commander, like a blazing fire amid a heap of grass.

The vigour of those two, viz., Satyaki and Bhimasena, would rend all the mountains or dry up all the oceans!

The words that Bhima spoke in the midst of the assembly have all been nearly fulfilled by him, O monarch. That which remains unaccomplished will again be accomplished by him.

While Karna was fighting with the unconquerable ariny of the Pandavas, it was vigorously protected by the wilder of Gandiva.

You have done many misdeeds without any cause, by the righteous Pandavas. The fruits of those acts have now come.

For Accomplishing your own object you had, with great care, mustered together a large force. That huge force as also yourself, O best of Bharatas, have fallen into great danger.

Preserve your own self now, for self in the stay of everything. If the support is broken, O sire, everything attached thereto is scattered on every side.

He that is being weakened should seek peace by conciliation. He that is prosperous should make war. This is the policy taught by Brihaspati.

We are now inferior to the sons of Pandu as regards the strength of our army. Therefore, O lord, I think peace with the Pandavas is conducive to our good.

He that does not know what is for his good or knowing disregards what is for his good, is soon deprived of his kingdom and never obtains any good.

If by submission to king Yudhishthira we may still have the kingdom even that would be for our good and not O king, to suffer through folly defeat at the hand of the Pandavas.

Yudhishthira is merciful. At the request of Vichitravirya's son and of Govinda, he will allow you to be the king.

Whatever Hrishikesha will say to the victorious king Yudhishthira and Arjuna and Bhimasena, all of them will, forsooth, obey.

Krishna will not, I think, be able to disobey the words of Dhritarashtra of Kuru's race, nor will the son of Pandu be able to disregard those of Krishna.

The end of hostilities with the sons of Pritha is what I consider to be for your good, I do not say this to you from any mean motives nor for saving my life. I say, king, that which I think beneficial. You will recollect these words when no the verge of death if you neglect them now. Old Kripa, the son of Sharadvata, weepingly said these words. Breathing hard breaths, he was beside himself with sorrow.