, Santanu's son, O elder brother of
Pandu, said unto the son of Pandu, 'As long as I am alive, O son of
Kunti, victory cannot be yours in battle, O thou of great wisdom. Truly
do I say this unto thee. After, however, I am vanquished in fight, ye may
have victory in battle, ye sons of Pandu. If, therefore, ye desire
victory in the battle, smite me down without delay. I give you
permission, ye sons of Pritha, strike me as ye please. I am thus known to
you in what I regard to be a fortunate circumstance.[472] After I am
slain, all the rest will be slain. Therefore, do as I bid'.

"Yudhishthira said, 'Tell us the means by which we may vanquish thee in
battle, thee that art, when excited with wrath in the fight, like unto
the Destroyer himself armed with mace. The wielder of the thunder-bolt
may be vanquished or Varuna, or Yama. Thou, however, art incapable of
being defeated in battle by even the gods and Asuras united together,
with Indra at their head.'

"Bhishma said, 'That, O son of Pandu, is true, which thou sayest, O thou
of mighty arms. When with weapons and my large bow in hand I contend
carefully in battle, I am incapable of being defeated by the very gods
and the Asuras with Indra at their head. If, however, I lay aside my
weapons, even these car-warriors can slay me. One that hath thrown away
his weapons, one that hath fallen down, one whose armour hath slipped
off, one whose standard is down, one who is flying away, one who is
frightened, one who says--"I am thine"--one who is a female, one who
beareth the name of a female, one no longer capable of taking care of
one's self, one who hath only a single son, or one who is a vulgar
fellows,--with these I do not like to battle. Hear also, O king, about my
resolve formed before. Beholding any inauspicious omen I would never
fight. That mighty car-warrior, the son of Drupada, O king, whom thou
hast in thy army, who is known by the name of Sikhandin, who is wrathful
in battle, brave, and ever victorious, was a female before but
subsequently obtained manhood. How all this took place, ye all know it
truly. Brave in battle and clad in mail, let Arjuna, keeping Sikhandin
before him, attack me with his sharp shafts. When that inauspicious omen
will be there, especially in the form of one that was a female before, I
will never seek, though armed with bow and arrow, to strike him.
Obtaining that opportunity, let Dhananjaya the son of Pandu quickly
pierce me on every side with