yoke, and shaft, fell down, reduced to ashes.

"'Beholding the vehicle thus reduced to ashes, O lord, the sons of Pandu
became filled with wonder, and Arjuna, O king, having saluted Krishna and
bowed unto him, said these words, with joined hands and in an
affectionate voice, "O Govinda, O divine one, for what reason hath this
car been consumed by fire? What is this highly wonderful incident that
has happened before our eyes! O thou of mighty arms, if thou thinkest
that I can listen to it without harm, then tell me everything."

"'Vasudeva said, "That car, O Arjuna, had before been consumed by diverse
kinds of weapons. It was because I had sat upon it during battle that it
did not fall into pieces, O scorcher of foes! Previously consumed by the
energy of brahmastra, it has been reduced to ashes upon my abandoning it
after attainment by thee of thy objects!"

"'Then, with a little pride, that slayer of foes, the divine Keshava,
embracing king Yudhishthira, said unto him, "By good luck, thou hast won
the victory, O son of Kunti! By good luck, thy foes have been vanquished!
By good luck, the wielder of Gandiva, Bhimasena the son of Pandu,
thyself, O king, and the two sons of Madri have escaped with life from
this battle so destructive of heroes, and have escaped after having slain
all your foes! Quickly do that, O Bharata, which should now be done by
thee!

"'"After I had arrived at Upaplavya, thyself, approaching me, with the
wielder of Gandiva in thy company, gavest me honey and the customary
ingredients, and saidst these words, O Lord: 'This Dhananjaya, O Krishna,
is thy brother and friend! He should, therefore, be protected by thee in
all dangers!' After thou didst say these words, I answered thee, saying,
'So be it!'

"'"That Savyasaci hath been protected by me. Victory also hath been thine,
O king! With his brothers, O king of kings, that hero of true prowess hath
come out of this dreadful battle, so destructive of heroes, with life!"
Thus addressed by Krishna, King Yudhishthira the just, with hair standing
on end, O monarch, said these words unto Janardana:

"'Yudhishthira said, "Who else save thee, O grinder of foes, not excepting
the thunder-wielding Purandara himself, could have withstood the
brahmastras hurled by Drona and Karna! It was through thy grace that the
Samsaptakas were vanquished! It was through thy grace that Partha had
never to turn back from even the fiercest of encounters! Similarly, it
was