Kekaya's
princess, in thee have I truly a son! I never had nor shall have, a son
that is equal to thee! How, indeed, couldst thou, O child, encounter
that Karna who leaveth not a single mark unhit amongst even a thousand
that he may aim at all at once? How couldst thou, O child, encounter
that Bhishma who hath no equal in the whole world of men? How also
couldst thou, O child, encounter Drona, that foremost of all wielders of
weapons, that preceptor of the Vrishnis and Kauravas, twice-born one who
may be regarded as the preceptor of all the Kshatriyas? How couldst thou
meet in battle the celebrated Aswatthaman? How couldst thou, O child,
encounter that Duryodhana, the prince who is capable of piercing even a
mountain with his mighty arrows? My foes have all been thrashed. A
delicious breeze seems to blow around me. And since thou hast recovered
in battle the whole of my wealth that had been seized by the Kurus, it
seems that all those mighty warriors were struck with panic. Without
doubt, thou, O bull amongst men, has routed the foe and snatched away
from them my wealth of kine, like his prey from a tiger.'"

SECTION LXIX

"Uttara said, 'The kine have not been recovered by me, nor have the foe
been vanquished by me. All that hath been accomplished by the son of a
deity. Capable of striking like a thunderbolt, that youth of celestial
origin, beholding me running away in fear, stopped me and himself
mounted on my car. It was by him that the kine have been recovered and
the Kauravas vanquished. The deed, O father, is that hero's and not
mine. It was he that repulsed with arrows Kripa and Drona and Drona's
son of powerful energy, and the _Suta's_ son and Bhishma. That mighty
hero then spoke unto the affrighted prince Duryodhana who was running
away like the leader of a head of elephants, these words, "O prince of
the Kuru race, I do not see that thou art safe by any means even at
Hastinapura. Protect thy life by putting forth thy might. Thou shalt not
escape me by flight. Therefore, make up thy mind for fight. If
victorious, the sovereignty of the earth will be thine, or if slain,
heaven itself will be thine."

"'Thus addressed, king Duryodhana--that tiger among men surrounded by
his counsellors,--sighing on his car like a snake turned back, showered
arrows endued with the speed and force of thunderbolts. Beholding all
this, venerable sire, my thighs began to quake. Then that celestial
youth pierced with arrows the Kur