a
is proud; his weapons strike deep; he is endued with great lightness of
hands; he is conversant with steeds; he agitates vast hosts; he is
regarded an Atiratha. Though such, I shall yet, with my sharp shafts,
strike his head from off his trunk today. O Shalya, ever keeping Death or
victory in battle before me, I shall today fight with Dhananjaya. There
is none else save myself that would on a single car fight with that
Pandava who resembles the destroyer himself. I myself will gladly speak
of the prowess of Phalguna in the midst of an assembly of Kshatriyas. Why
however, dost thou, a fool as thou art and of foolish understanding,
speak to me of Phalguna's prowess? Thou art a doer of disagreeable deeds.
Thou art cruel and mean and being thyself unforgiving, thou art a
detractor of one that is forgiving. I can slay a hundred persons like
thee, but I forgive thee in consequence of my forgiving disposition,
owing to the exigency of the times. Thou art of sinful deeds. Like a fool
thou hast, for the sake of Pandu's son, rebuked me and told me many
disagreeable things. Crooked-hearted as thou art, thou hast said all
these words unto me, that am of a sincere heart. Cursed art thou for thou
art an injurer of friends,--of friends, because friendship is
seven-paced. Terrible is the hour that is now passing. Duryodhana hath
himself come to battle. I am solicitous of seeing his purposes achieved.
Thou, however, art acting in such a way that it shows thee to have no
friendship (for the Kuru king)! He is a friend who shows affection for
another, who gladdens another, who makes himself agreeable to another,
who protects another, who honours another, and who rejoices in the joys
of another. I tell thee that I have all those attributes, and the king
himself knows all this. He, on the other hand, that destroys, chastises,
sharpens his weapons, injures, causes us to sigh, makes us cheerless, and
wrongs us in diverse ways, is a foe. All these attributes are to be found
in thee and thou discoverest all of them in me. For the sake of
Duryodhana, for the sake of doing what is agreeable to thee, for the sake
of victory, for the sake of myself, and for the sake of God himself, I
will with vigorous exertion, fight with Partha and Vasudeva. Witness
today my feats. Behold today my excellent weapons, my brahmastra and
other celestial weapons, as also those that are human. I will today slay
that hero of fierce prowess, like an exceedingly infuriate