of Kunti, that tiger among men, be withdrawn from the
field. In Phalguni's presence, however, O king, Yudhishthira is incapable
of being taken in battle even by the gods and the Asuras headed by Indra."'

"Sanjaya continued, 'After Drona had promised the king's seizure even
under these limitations, thy foolish sons regarded Yudhishthira as
already taken. Thy son (Duryodhana) knew Drona's partiality for the
Pandavas. In order to make Drona stick to his promise, therefore, he
divulged those counsels. Then, O chastiser of foes, the fact of Drona's
having promised to seize the (eldest) Pandava was proclaimed by
Duryodhana unto all his troops.'"

SECTION XIII

"Sanjaya said, 'After Drona had promised the kings seizure under those
limitations, thy troops hearing of (that promise about) Yudhishthira's
capture, uttered many leonine shouts, mingling them with the whiz of
their arrows and the blare of their conchs. King Yudhishthira the just,
however, O Bharata, soon learnt in detail, through his spies, everything
about the purpose upon which Bharadwaja's son was intent. Then bringing
together all his brothers and all the other kings of his army, king
Yudhishthira the just addressed Dhananjaya, saying, "Thou hast heard, O
tiger among men, about the intention of Drona. Let such measures,
therefore, be adopted as may prevent the accomplishment of that purpose.
It is true, Drona, that grinder of foes, hath vowed his pledge, subject
to limitations, however, O great bowman, rest on thee. Fight thou,
therefore, today, O thou of mighty arms, in my vicinity, so that
Duryodhana may not obtain from Drona the fruition of his desire."

"'Arjuna said, "As the slaughter of my preceptor can never be accomplished
by me, so, king, I can never consent to give thee up. O son of Pandu, I
would rather yield up my life in battle than fight against my preceptor.
This son of Dhritarashtra desireth sovereignty, having seized thee as a
captive in battle. In this world he will never obtain the fruition of
that desire of his. The firmament itself with its stars may fall down,
the Earth herself may split into fragments, yet Drona will, surely, never
succeed in seizing thee as long as I am alive. If the wielder of the
thunderbolt himself, or Vishnu at the head of the gods, assist him in
battle, still he shall not succeed in seizing thee on the field. As long
as I am alive, O great king, it behoveth thee not to entertain any fear
of Drona, although he i