he vow which I have made
jointly with thee. Remember the words that were then spoken by me. O
foremost of men, act in such a way that that vow of mine, O son of Kunti,
as also thy own vow, may not be falsified. O Dhananjaya, do that by which
that vow of mine may be made true." Hearing these words of Bhima, Arjuna
of immeasurable prowess, getting near Karna in that battle, told him, "O
Karna, thou art of false fight. O son of a Suta, thou applaudest thy own
self. Of wicked understanding, listen now to what I tell thee. Heroes
meet with either of these two things in battle, viz., victory or defeat.
Both of these are uncertain, O son of Radha! The case is not otherwise
when Indra himself is engaged in battle. Made carless by Yuyudhana, with
thy senses no longer under thy control, thou wert almost at the point of
death. Remembering, however, that I had vowed to slay thee, that hero
dismissed thee without taking thy life. It is true thou hadst succeeded
in depriving Bhimasena of his car. Thy abuse, however, O son of Radha, of
that hero was sinful. Those bulls among men that are truly righteous and
brave, having vanquished a foe, never boast, nor speak ill of anybody.
Thy knowledge, however, is little. It is for this, O son of a Suta, that
thou indulged in such speeches. Then again the abusive epithets thou
didst apply to the battling Bhimasena, endued with great prowess and
heroism and devoted to the practices of the righteous, were not
consistent with truth. In the very sight of all the troops, of Kesava, as
also of myself, thou wert many a time made carless by Bhimasena in
battle. That son of Pandu, however, did not call thee a single harsh
word. Since, however, thou hast addressed Vrikodara in many harsh
speeches, and since thou with others hast slain the son of Subhadra out
of my sight, therefore, this very day obtain the fruit of those offences
of thine. It was for thy own destruction, O wicked wight, that thou didst
then cut off Abhimanyu's bow; for that, O thou of little understanding,
thou shalt be slain by me, with all thy followers, forces, and animals.
Accomplish now all those acts which thou shouldst do, for a great
calamity is impending over thee. I will slay Vrishasena in thy very sight
in battle. All those other kings, again, that will fully advance against
me, I will despatch unto Yama's abode. I say this truly, laying my hand
on my weapon. A fool as thou art, without wisdom and full of vanity, I
say that behol