Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/45

Rh to bear it all and unable himself to overcome the sons of Pandu in the field, and though a soldier, unwilling yet to obtain good fortune by his own exertions, with the help of the king of Gandhara, he concerted an unfair game at dice.

'Hear, O Sanjaya, all that happened thereupon and came to my knowledge. And when thou hast heard all I say recollecting everything as it fell out, thou shalt then know me for once with a prophetic eye. When I heard that Arjuna, having bent the bow, had pierced the curious mark and brought it to the ground, and bore away in triumph the maiden Krishnā, in the sight of the assembled princes, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. When I heard that Subhadra of the race of Madhu had, after forcible seizure, been married by Arjuna in the city of Dwaraka, and that the two heroes of the race of Vrishni (Krishna and Balarama, the brothers of Subhadra) without resenting it had entered Indraprastha as friends, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. When I heard that Arjuna, by his celestial arrows preventing the by Indra the king of the gods, had gratified Agni by making over to him the forest of Khandava, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. When I heard that the five Pandavas with their mother Kunti had escaped from the house of lac, and that Vidura was engaged in the accomplishment of their designs, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. When I heard that Arjuna, after having pierced the mark in the arena had won Draupadi, and that the brave Panchalas had joined the Pandavas, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. When I heard that Jarasandha, the foremost of the royal line of Magadha and blazing in the midst of the Kshetrias, had been slain by Bhima with his bare arms alone, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. When I heard that in their general campaign the sons of Pandu had conquered the chiefs of the land and performed the grand sacrifice of the Rajasuya, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. When I heard that Draupadi, her voice choked with tears and heart full of agony, in the season of impurity and with but one raiment on, had been dragged into court and though she had protectors had been treated as if she had none, then, O Sanjaya, I had no hope of success. When I heard that the wicked wretch