SECTION LXVII

"Vaisampayana said, 'After Kunti had sat up, Subhadra, beholding her brother, began to weep aloud, and afflicted with excessive grief, said,--'O thou of eyes like lotus petals, behold the grandson of Arjuna of great intelligence. Alas, the Kuru race having been thinned, a child has been born that is feeble and dead. The blade of grass (inspired into a weapon of great efficacy), uplifted by Drona's son for compassing the destruction of Bhimasena, fell upon Uttara and Vijaya and myself. 1 Alas, that blade, O Kesava, is still existing unextracted in me, after having pierced my heart, since I do not, O irresistible hero, behold this child with (his sire who was) my son. What will the righteous-souled king Yudhishthira the just say? What will Bhimasena and Arjuna and the two sons of Madravati also say? Hearing that Abhimanyu's son was born and dead, the Pandavas, O thou of Vrishni's race, will regard themselves as cheated by Aswatthaman. Abhimanyu, O Krishna, was the favourite of all the Pandava brothers, without doubt. Hearing this intelligence, what will those heroes, vanquished by the weapon of Drona's son say? What grief, O Janarddana, can be greater than this viz., that Abhimanyu's son should be born dead! Bowing unto thee with my head, O Krishna, I seek to gratify thee today. Behold, O foremost of men, these two standing here, viz., Pritha and Draupadi. When, O Madhava, the son of Drona sought to destroy the embryos even in the wombs of the ladies of the Pandavas, at that time, O grinder of foes, thou saidst in wrath unto Drona's son (ever these words), 'O wretch of a Brahmana, O vilest of men, I shall disappoint thy wish. I shall revive the son of Kiritin's son.' Hearing these words of thine and well knowing thy puissance, I seek to gratify thee, O irresistible hero. Let the son of Abhimanyu be revived. It having pledged thyself previously thou dost not accomplish thy auspicious vow, do thou then know for certain, O chief of the Vrishni race, that I shall cast off my life. If, O hero, this son of Abhimanyu doth not revive when thou, O irresistible one, art alive and near, of what other use wilt thou be to me? Do thou, therefore, O irresistible one, revive this son of Abhimanyu,--this child possessed of eyes similar to his,--'even as a rain-charged cloud revives the lifeless crops (on a field). Thou, O Kesava, art righteous-souled, truthful, and of prowess incapable of being baffled. It behoveth thee, O chastiser of foes, to make thy words truthful. If only thou wishest it, thou canst revive

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the three worlds (of being) if dead. What need I say, therefore, of this darling child, born but dead, of thy sister's son? I know thy puissance, O Krishna. Therefore, do I solicit thee. Do thou show this great favour to the sons of Pandu. It behoveth thee, O mighty-armed one, to show compassion to this Uttara or to me, thinking that I am thy sister or even a mother that hath lost her son, and one that hath thrown herself upon thy protection.'"

Footnotes

118:1 Vilava is Arjuna.