ice
of thine hath been brought to a close. When, however, the sons of Pritha
shall have been slain in battle and thou wilt have completed the
_Rajasuya_ sacrifice, once again, O lord of men, shall I honour thee
thus.' Then that mighty king, the illustrious son of Dhritarashtra,
replied unto him, 'Truly hath this been spoken by thee. When, O foremost
of men, the wicked-minded Pandavas have been slain, and when also the
grand _Rajasuya_ hath been celebrated by me, then thou shalt again, O
hero, honour me thus.' And having said this, O Bharata, the Kaurava
embraced Karna, and began, O mighty king, to think of the _Rajasuya_,
that foremost of sacrifices. And that best of kings also addressed the
Kurus around him, saying, 'When shall I, ye Kauravas, having slain all
the Pandavas, celebrate that costly and foremost of sacrifices, the
_Rajasuya_.' Then spake Karna unto him, saying, 'Hear me, O elephant
among kings! So long as I do not slay Arjuna, I shall not allow any one
to wash my feet, nor shall I taste meat. And I shall observe the _Asura_
vow[44] and whoever may solicit me (for any thing), I never shall say,
"_I have it not_."' When Karna had thus vowed to slay Phalguna in
battle, those mighty charioteers and bowmen, the sons of Dhritarashtra,
sent up a loud cheer; and Dhritarashtra's sons thought that the Pandavas
had already been conquered. Then that chief of kings, the graceful
Duryodhana, leaving those bulls among men, entered his apartment, like
the lord Kuvera entering the garden of Chitraratha. And all those mighty
bowmen also, O Bharata, went to their respective quarters.

[44] The vow of the Asuras was (according to the Burdwan
Pundits) never to drink wine. It is more rational to suppose
that Karna swears to give up the refined manners and practices
of the Arvas and adopt those of the Asuras till the consummation
of the cherished desire.

"Meanwhile those mighty bowmen, the Pandavas, excited by the words the
messenger had spoken, became anxious, and they did not (from that time)
experience the least happiness. Intelligence, further, O foremost of
kings, had been brought by spies regarding the vow of the Suta's son to
slay Vijaya. Hearing this, O lord of men, Dharma's son became
exceedingly anxious. And considering Karna of the impenetrable mail to
be of wonderful prowess, and remembering all their woes, he knew no
peace. And that high-souled one filled with anxiety, made up his mind to
aban