Breathing hot and
long sighs repeatedly, the king waved his arms again and again, and
setting his heart on battle, thus answered, from within the waters, the
royal son of Pandu.
"'Duryodhana said, "Ye Parthas, all of you are possessed of friends, of
cars, and of animals! I, however, am alone, cheerless, without a car, and
without an animal! Being alone and destitute of weapons, how can I
venture to fight on foot, against numerous foes all well-armed and
possessed of cars? Do you, however, O Yudhishthira, fight me one at a
time! It is not proper that one should in battle fight many endued with
courage, especially when that one is without armour, fatigued, afflicted
with calamity, exceedingly mangled in his limbs, and destitute of both
animals and troops! I do not entertain the least fear, O monarch, of
either thee, or Vrikodara, the son of Pritha, or Phalguna, or Vasudeva,
or all the Pancalas, or the twins, or Yuyudhana, or all the other troops
thou hast! Standing in battle, alone as I am, I shall resist all of you!
The fame, O king, of all righteous men hath righteousness for its basis!
I say all this to you, observant of both righteousness and fame! Rising
(from this lake), I shall fight all of you in battle! Like the year that
gradually meets all the seasons, I shall meet all of you in fight! Wait,
ye Pandavas! Like the sun destroying by his energy the light of all stars
at dawn, I shall today, though weaponless and carless, destroy all of you
possessed of cars and steeds! Today I shall free myself from the debt I
owe to the many illustrious Kshatriyas (that have fallen for me), to
Bahlika and Drona and Bhishma and the high-souled Karna, to the heroic
Jayadratha and Bhagadatta, to Shalya the ruler of the Madras and
Bhurishrava, to my sons, O chief of Bharata's race, and Shakuni the son
of Subala, to all my friends and well-wishers and kinsmen! Today I shall
free myself from that debt by slaying thee with thy brothers!" With these
words, the (Kuru) king ceased speaking.
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