a all about thy calamity! And, O foremost of
kings, directly I heard it with a heart sore agitated by grief, have I
speedily come here wishing to see thee, O king! Alas! O bull of the
Bharata race, ye have all fallen into dire distress! I see thee with thy
brothers plunged in misfortune!"

SECTION XIV

"Yudhishthira said, 'O Krishna, why wert thou absent (from the Anartta
country)? And, O descendant of the Vrishni race, while thou wert away,
where didst thou dwell? And what didst thou do while out of thy kingdom?'

"Krishna said, 'O bull of the Bharata race, I had gone for the purpose of
destroying the (arranging) city Salwa. And, O foremost of the Kauravas,
listen to the reasons I had for so doing! The heroic son of Damaghosha,
the well-known king Sisupala of mighty arms and great energy, was slain
by me, O best of Bharatas, at thy Rajasuya sacrifice, because that wicked
one could not from anger bear to see the first worship offered to me!
Hearing that he had been slain, Salwa, burning with fierce anger, came to
Dwaraka, while, O Bharata, it was empty, myself being away, residing with
you here. And having arrived there on a car made of precious metals and
hence called the Souva, he had an encounter with the youthful princes of
the Vrishni race--those bulls of that line--and fought With them
mercilessly. And slaughtering many youthful Vrishnis of heroic valour,
the wicked one devastated all the gardens of the city. And, O thou of
mighty arms, he said, 'Where is that wretch of the Vrishni race,
Vasudeva, the evil-souled son of Vasudeva? I will humble in battle the
pride of that person so eager for fight! Tell me truly, O Anarttas! I
will go there where he is. And after killing that slayer of Kansa and
Kesi, will I return! By my weapon I swear that I will not return with out
slaying him!' And exclaiming repeatedly--Where is he? Where is he? the
lord of Saubha rusheth to this place and that, desirous of encountering
me in battle? And Salwa also said, 'Impelled by wrath for the destruction
of Sisupala I shall today send to the mansion of Yama that treacherous
miscreant of mean mind?' And, O king, he further said, 'That Janardana
shall I slay, who, wretch that he is, hath killed my brother who was but
a boy of tender years, and who was slain not on the field of battle,
unprepared as he was!' Having, O great king, wailed thus, and having, O
son of the Kuru race, abused me thus, he rose into the sky on his car of
preciou