aring these harsh
speeches of thee excited with wrath. Let Bhima become king. Having been
insulted thus, O hero, what use have I with life." Having said these
words, the king, leaving that bed, suddenly stood up and desired to go to
the woods. Then Vasudeva, bowing down, said unto him, "O king, the
celebrated vow of the wielder of Gandiva who is ever devoted to truth
about his Gandiva, is known to thee. That man in the world who would tell
him, 'Give thy Gandiva to another', would be slain by him. Even those
very words were addressed to him by you. Therefore, for keeping that
earnest vow, Partha, acting also at my instance, inflicted you this
insult, O lord of Earth. Insult to superiors is said to be their death.
For this reason, O thou of mighty arms, it behoveth thee to forgive me
that beseech and bow to thee this transgression, O king, of both myself
and Arjuna, committed for maintaining the truth. Both of us, O great
king, throw ourselves on thy mercy. The Earth shall today drink the blood
of the wretched son of Radha. I swear truly to thee. Know the Suta's son
as slain today. He, whose slaughter thou desirest, hath today lost his
life." Hearing those words of Krishna, king Yudhishthira the just, in a
great fury, raised the prostrate Hrishikesha and joining his hands, said
in haste, "It is even so as thou hast said. I have been guilty of a
transgression, I have now been awakened by thee, O Govinda. I am saved by
thee, O Madhava. By thee, O Acyuta, we have today been rescued from a
great calamity. Both of us stupefied by folly, viz., myself and Arjuna,
have been rescued from an ocean of distress, having obtained thee as our
lord. Indeed, having obtained the raft of thy intelligence today, we
have, with our relatives and allies, passed over an ocean of sorrow and
grief. Having obtained thee, O Acyuta, we are not masterless."'"

71

"Sanjaya said, 'Having heard these joyful words of king Yudhishthira,
Govinda of virtuous soul, that delighter of the Yadus, then addressed
Partha. The latter, however, having at the instance of Krishna addressed
those words unto Yudhishthira, became exceedingly cheerless for having
committed a trivial sin. Then Vasudeva, smiling, said unto the son of
Pandu, "What would have been thy condition, O Partha, if, observant of
virtue thou hadst slain the son of Dharma with thy sharp sword? Having
only addressed the king as thou, such cheerlessness hath possessed thy
heart. If thou hadst slai