tell
me!" Krishna replied, saying, "Thou art always described as bereft of
wrath, and righteous-souled and devoted to righteousness! Calm thyself,
therefore, and do not give way to wrath! Know that the Kali age is at
hand. Remember also the vow made by the son of Pandu! Let, therefore, the
son of Pandu be regarded to have paid off the debt he owed to his
hostility and to have fulfilled his vow!"'

"Sanjaya continued, 'Hearing this fallacious discourse from Keshava, O
king, Rama failed to dispel his wrath and become cheerful. He then said
in that assembly, "Having unfairly slain king Suyodhana of righteous
soul, the son of Pandu shall be reputed in the world as a crooked
warrior! The righteous-souled Duryodhana, on the other hand, shall obtain
eternal blessedness! Dhritarashtra's royal son, that ruler of men, who
hath been struck down, is a fair warrior. Having made every arrangement
for the Sacrifice of battle and having undergone the initiatory
ceremonies on the field, and, lastly, having poured his life as a
libation upon the fire represented by his foes, Duryodhana has fairly
completed his sacrifice by the final ablutions represented by the
attainment of glory!" Having said these words, the valiant son of Rohini,
looking like the crest of a white cloud, ascended his car and proceeded
towards Dwaraka. The Pancalas with the Vrishnis, as also the Pandavas, O
monarch, became rather cheerless after Rama had set out for Dwaravati.
Then Vasudeva, approaching Yudhishthira who was exceedingly melancholy
and filled with anxiety, and who hung down his head and knew not what to
do in consequence of his deep affliction, said unto him these words:

"'Vasudeva said, "O Yudhishthira the just, why dost thou sanction this
unrighteous act, since thou permittest the head of the insensible and
fallen Duryodhana whose kinsmen and friends have all been slain to be
thus struck by Bhima with his foot. Conversant with the ways of morality,
why dost thou, O king, witness this act with indifference?"

"'Yudhishthira answered, "This act, O Krishna, done from wrath, of
Vrikodara's touching the head of the king with his foot, is not agreeable
to me, nor am I glad at this extermination of my race! By guile were we
always deceived by the sons of Dhritarashtra! Many were the cruel words
they spoke to us. We were again exiled into the woods by them. Great is
the grief on account of all those acts that is in Bhimasena's heart!
Reflecting on all this,