f? Human enjoyments such as were worthy of the very gods and such
as could with difficulty be obtained by other kings, had been mine.
Prosperity of the very highest kind had been attained by me! Who then is
so fortunate as myself? With all my well-wishers, and my younger
brothers, I am going to heaven, O thou of unfading glory! As regards
yourselves, with your purposes unachieved and torn by grief, live ye in
this unhappy world!"'

"Sanjaya continued, 'Upon the conclusion of these words of the
intelligent king of the Kurus, a thick shower of fragrant flowers fell
from the sky. The Gandharvas played upon many charming musical
instruments. The Apsaras in a chorus sang the glory of king Duryodhana.
The Siddhas uttered loud sound to the effect, "Praise be to king
Duryodhana!" Fragrant and delicious breezes mildly blew on every side.
All the quarters became clear and the firmament looked blue as the lapis
lazuli. Beholding these exceedingly wonderful things and this worship
offered to Duryodhana, the Pandavas headed by Vasudeva became ashamed.
Hearing (invisible beings cry out) that Bhishma and Drona and Karna and
Bhurishrava were slain unrighteously, they became afflicted with grief
and wept in sorrow. Beholding the Pandavas filled with anxiety and grief,
Krishna addressed them in a voice deep as that of the clouds or the drum,
saying, "All of them were great car-warriors and exceedingly quick in the
use of weapons! If ye had put forth all your prowess, even then ye could
never have slain them in battle by fighting fairly! King Duryodhana also
could never be slain in a fair encounter! The same is the case with all
those mighty car-warriors headed by Bhishma! From desire of doing good to
you, I repeatedly applied my powers of illusion and caused them to be
slain by diverse means in battle. If I had not adopted such deceitful
ways in battle, victory would never have been yours, nor kingdom, nor
wealth! Those four were very high-souled warriors and regarded as
Atirathas in the world. The very Regents of the Earth could not slay them
in fair fight! Similarly, the son of Dhritarashtra, though fatigued when
armed with the mace, could not be slain in fair fight by Yama himself
armed with his bludgeon! You should not take it to heart that this foe of
yours hath been slain deceitfully. When the number of one's foes becomes
great, then destruction should be effected by contrivances and means. The
gods themselves, in slaying the Asuras