n that dark hour of the night, they fell impetuously upon the Pandava
troops and began to slay them. Seeing all this, king Yudhishthira became
exceedingly cheerless, O chastiser of foes. The mighty-armed son of
Pandu, then addressed Bhimasena and said, "O thou of mighty arms, resist
the Dhritarashtra host. In consequence of the slaughter of Hidimva's son,
a great stupefaction overwhelms me." Having ordered Bhimasena thus, he sat
down on his car. With tearful face and sighing repeatedly, the king
became exceedingly cheerless at the sight of Karna's prowess. Beholding
him so afflicted, Krishna said these words, "O son of Kunti, let not such
grief be thine. Such cheerlessness does not become thee, O chief of the
Bharatas, as it does an ordinary person. Rise, O king, and fight. Bear
the heavy burden, O lord! If cheerlessness overtakes thee, our victory
becomes uncertain." Hearing these words of Krishna, Dharma's son,
Yudhishthira, wiping his eyes with his hands, replied unto Krishna,
saying, "O thou of mighty arms, the excellent path of duty is not unknown
to me. The dire consequences of a Brahmana's slaughter are his that
forgets the services he receives at other's hands. Whilst we were living
in the woods the high-souled son of Hidimva, although then a mere child
did us many services, O Janardana! Learning that Partha, having white
steeds, had departed for the acquisition of weapons, that great bowman
(viz., Ghatotkacha), O Krishna, came to me at Kamyaka. He dwelt with us
till Dhananjaya's reappearance. Whilst proceeding over many inaccessible
fastnesses, he himself carried on his back the tired princess of
Panchala. The feats he achieved, O lord, show that he was skilled in all
modes of warfare. Indeed, that high-souled one accomplished many
difficult feats for my benefit. My affection for Ghatotkacha, that prince
of the Rakshasas is twice that, O Janardana, which I naturally bear
towards Sahadeva. That mighty-armed one was devoted to me. I was dear to
him and he was dear to me. It is for this that, scorched by grief, O thou
of Vrishni's race, I have become so cheerless. Behold, O thou of
Vrishni's race, our troops afflicted and routed by the Kauravas. Behold,
those mighty car-warriors, viz., Drona and Karna, are contending
earnestly in battle. Behold, the Pandava host crushed at dead of night,
like an extensive forest of heath by a couple of infuriated elephants.
Disregarding the might of Bhimasena's son, as also the varie