killeth a woman, a boy, or an old man, or a warrior in
distress, deprived of his car or with his weapons broken! Thou art born
in the race of charioteers and trained to thy craft! And, O son of
Daruka, thou art acquainted with the customs of the Vrishnis in battle!
Versed as thou art with all the customs of the Vrishnis in battle, do
thou, O Suta, never again fly from the field as thou hast done! What will
the irrepressible Madhava, the elder brother of Gada, say to me when he
heareth that I have left the field of battle in bewilderment or that I
have been struck on the back--a run-away from the combat! What will the
elder brother of Kesava, the mighty-armed Baladeva, clad in blue and
inebriate with wine, say, when he returneth? What also, O Suta, will that
lion among men, the grand-son of Sini (Satyaki), that great warrior, say
on hearing that I have forsaken the fight? And, O charioteer, what will
the ever-victorious Shamva, the irrepressible Charudeshna. and Gada, and
Sarana, and Akrura also of mighty arms, say unto me! What also will the
wives of the Vrishni heroes when they meet together, say of me who had
hitherto been considered as brave and well-conducted, respectable and
possessed of manly pride? They will even say This Pradyumna is a coward
who cometh here, leaving the battle! Fie on him! They will never say,
Well done! Ridicule, with exclamation of Fie, is to me or a person like
me O Suta, more than death! Therefore, do thou never again leave the
field of battle! Reposing the charge on me, Hari the slayer of Madhu,
hath gone to the sacrifice of the Bharata lion (Yudhishthira)! Therefore,
I cannot bear to be quiet now! O Suta, when the brave Kritavarman was
sallying out to encounter Salwa, I prevented him, saying I will resist
Salwa. Do thou stay! For honouring me the son of Hridika desisted! Having
left the field of battle, what shall I say unto that mighty warrior when
I meet him? When that irrepressible one of mighty arms--the holder of the
conch, the discus, and the mace--returneth, what shall I say unto him of
eyes like lotus leaves? Satyaki, and Valadeva, and others of the Vrishni
and Andhaka races always boast of me! What shall I say unto them? O Suta,
having left the field of battle and with wounds of arrows on my back
while being carried away by thee, I shall, by no means, be able to live!
Therefore, O son of Daruka, turn that car speedily, and never do so again
even in times of greatest danger! I do no