could accomplish it. Who is there, the lord Indra
unexcepted, that is competent to slay them in the presence of these
heroes? Besides, O king, Ashvatthama succeeded in accomplishing the feat
only because the men were all asleep. Having caused that vast slaughter
of the Pandava forces, those three great car-warriors (Ashvatthama, Kripa
and Kritavarma), meeting together, exclaimed, "Good luck!" His two
companions congratulated Ashvatthama, and the latter was also embraced by
them. In great joy the latter uttered these words: "All the Pancalas have
been slain, as also all the sons of Draupadi! All the Somakas also, as
well as all that remained of the Matsyas, have been slaughtered by me!
Crowned with success, let us without delay go there where the king is! If
the king be still alive, we will give him this joyful intelligence!"'"

9

"Sanjaya said, 'Having slain all the Pancalas and the sons of Draupadi,
the three Kuru heroes together came to that spot where Duryodhana lay,
struck down by the foe. Arrived there, they beheld that life had not been
wholly extinct in the king. Jumping down from their cars, they surrounded
thy son. The Kuru king, O monarch, was lying there with broken thighs.
Almost senseless, his life was about to ebb away. He was vomiting blood
at intervals, with downcast eyes. He was then surrounded by a large
number of carnivorous animals of terrible forms, and by wolves and
hyenas, that awaited at no great distance for feeding upon his body. With
great difficulty the king was keeping off those beasts of prey that stood
in expectation of feasting upon him. He was writhing on the earth in
great agony. Beholding him thus lying on the earth, bathed in his own
blood, the three heroes who were the sole survivors of his army,
Ashvatthama and Kripa and Kritavarma, became afflicted with grief and sat
surrounding him. Encompassed by those three mighty car-warriors who were
covered with blood and who breathed hot sighs, the Kuru king looked like
a sacrificial altar surrounded by three fires. Beholding the king lying
in that highly undeserving plight, the three heroes wept in unendurable
sorrow. Wiping the blood from off his face with their hands, they uttered
these piteous lamentations in the hearing of the king lying on the field
of battle.

"'Kripa said, "There is nothing too difficult for destiny to bring about,
since even this king Duryodhana who was the lord of eleven Akshauhinis of
troops sleepeth on th