Creator himself, that we should
injure thee and thou shouldst injure us, O foremost one of Kuru's race!
Through thy own fault this great calamity has come upon thee, due to
avarice and pride and folly, O Bharata! Having caused thy companions and
brothers and sires and sons and grandsons and others to be all slain,
thou comest now by thy own death. In consequence of thy fault, thy
brothers, mighty car-warriors all, and thy kinsmen have been slain by us.
I think all this to be the work of irresistible Destiny. Thou art not to
be pitied. On the other hand, thy death, O sinless one, is enviable. It
is we that deserve to be pitied in every respect, O Kaurava! We shall
have to drag on a miserable existence, reft of all our dear friends and
kinsmen. Alas, how shall I behold the widows, overwhelmed with grief and
deprived of their senses by sorrow, of my brothers and sons and
grandsons! Thou, O king, departest from this world! Thou art sure to have
thy residence in heaven! We, on the other hand, shall be reckoned as
creatures of hell, and shall continue to suffer the most poignant grief!
The grief-afflicted wives of Dhritarashtra's sons and grandsons, those
widows crushed with sorrow, will without doubt, curse us all!" Having
said these words, Dharma's royal son, Yudhishthira, deeply afflicted with
grief, began to breathe hard and indulge in lamentations.'"

60

"Dhritarashtra said, 'Beholding the (Kuru) king struck down unfairly,
what O Suta, did the mighty Baladeva, that foremost one of Yadu's race,
say? Tell me, O Sanjaya, what Rohini's son, well-skilled in encounters
with the mace and well acquainted with all its rules, did on that
occasion!'

"Sanjaya said, 'Beholding thy son struck at the thighs, the mighty Rama,
that foremost of smiters, became exceedingly angry. Raising his arms
aloft the hero having the plough for his weapon, in a voice of deep
sorrow, said in the midst of those kings, "Oh, fie on Bhima, fie on
Bhima! Oh, fie, that in such a fair fight a blow hath been struck below
the navel! Never before hath such an act as Vrikodara hath done been
witnessed in an encounter with the mace! No limb below the navel should
be struck. This is the precept laid down in treatises! This Bhima,
however, is an ignorant wretch, unacquainted with the truths of
treatises! He, therefore, acteth as he likes!" While uttering these
words, Rama gave way to great wrath. The mighty Baladeva then, uplifting
his plough, rushed towar