th on the tails of two venomous black cobras with
bifurcated tongues. The bamboo, the reed, and the plantain bear fruit
only to perish and not to grow in size any further. Like also the crab
that conceiveth for her own destruction, thou wilt lay hands upon me who
am protected by these mighty heroes!'

"Jayadratha replied, 'I know all this, O Krishna, and I am well aware of
the prowess of those princes. But thou canst not frighten us now with
these threats. We, too, O Krishna, belong by birth to the seventeen high
clans, and are endowed with the six royal qualities.[49] We, therefore,
look down upon the Pandavas as inferior men! Therefore, do thou, O
daughter of Drupada, ride this elephant or this chariot quickly, for
thou canst not baffle us with thy words alone; or, speaking less
boastfully, seek thou the mercy of the king of the Sauviras!'

[49] The six acts of a king are peace, war, marching, halting,
sowing dissention, and seeking protection.

"Draupadi replied, 'Though I am so powerful, why doth the king of
Sauvira yet consider me so powerless. Well-known as I am, I cannot, from
fear of violence, demean myself before that prince. Even Indra himself
cannot abduct her for whose protection Krishna and Arjuna would together
follow, riding in the same chariot. What shall I say, therefore, of a
weak human being. When Kiriti, that slayer of foes, riding on his car,
will, on my account, enter thy ranks, striking terror into every heart,
he will consume everything around like fire consuming a stack of dry
grass in summer. The warring princes of the Andhaka and the Vrishni
races, with Janardana at their head, and the mighty bowmen of the
Kaikeya tribe, will all follow in my wake with great ardour. The
terrible arrows of Dhananjaya, shot from the string of the _Gandiva_ and
propelled by his arms fly with great force through the air, roaring like
the very clouds. And when thou wilt behold Arjuna shooting from the
_Gandiva_ a thick mass of mighty arrows like unto a flight of locusts,
then wilt thou repent of thine own folly! Bethink thyself of what thou
wilt feel when that warrior armed with the _Gandiva_, blowing his
conch-shell and with gloves reverberating with the strokes of his
bowstring will again and again pierce thy breast with his shafts. And
when Bhima will advance towards thee, mace in hand and the two sons of
Madri range in all directions, vomiting forth the venom of their wrath,
thou wilt then experience