verwhelmed with great sorrow, his voice choked in
tears, said, with joined hands and bending his head unto his eldest
brother, 'Relent!' And saying this he fell down on earth with heavy
heart. And afflicted with grief that tiger among men, shedding his tears
on the feet of his brother again said, 'This will never be! The earth
may split, the vault of heaven may break in pieces, the sun may cast off
his splendour, the moon may abandon his coolness, the wind may forsake
its speed, the Himavat may be moved from its site, the waters of the
ocean may dry up, and fire may abandon its heat, yet I, O king, may
never rule the earth without thee.' And Dussasana repeatedly said,
'Relent, O king! Thou alone shall be king in our race for a hundred
years.' And having spoken thus unto the king, Dussasana began to weep
melodiously catching, O Bharata, the feet of his eldest brother
deserving of worship from him.

"And beholding Dussasana and Duryodhana thus weeping, Karna in great
grief approached them both and said, 'Ye Kuru princes, why do you thus
yield to sorrow like ordinary men, from senselessness? Mere weeping can
never ease a sorrowing man's grief. When weeping can never remove one's
griefs, what do you gain by thus giving way to sorrow? Summon patience
to your aid to not gladden the foe by such conduct. O king, the Pandavas
only did their duty in liberating thee. They that reside in the
dominions of the king, should always do what is agreeable to the king.
Protected by thee, the Pandavas are residing happily in thy dominion. It
behoveth thee not to indulge in such sorrow like an ordinary person.
Behold, thy uterine brothers are all sad and cheerless at seeing thee
resolved to put an end to thy life by forgoing food. Blest be thou! Rise
up and come to thy city and console these thy uterine brothers.'"

SECTION CCXLVIII

"Karna continued, 'O king, this conduct of thine to-day appeareth to be
childish. O hero, O slayer of foes, what is to be wondered at in this
that the Pandavas liberated thee when thou wert vanquished by the foe? O
son of the Kuru race, those that reside in the territories of the king,
especially those (amongst them) that lead the profession of arms, should
always do what is agreeable to the king whether they happen to be known
to their monarch or unknown to him. It happened often that foremost men
who crush the ranks of the hostile host, are vanquished by them, and are
rescued by their own troops. They that