DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.638#0361
280 INDIAN MYTH AND LEGEND
Then angry Duryodhana spoke, while his eyes burned
bright and his brows hung darkly, and said: "Krishna
counsels me to be just, yet he hateth me and loveth the
Pandavas. Bishma scowls upon me, and Vidura and
Drona look coldly on; my sire weeps for my sins. Yet
what have I done that ye, O elders, should turn my
sire's affection from me? If Yudhishthira loved gam-
bling and staked and lost his throne and freedom, am
I to blame? If he played a second time after being set
at liberty, and became an exile, why should he now call
me a robber? Pallid and inconstant is the star of the
Pandavas' destiny: their friends are few, and feeble is
their army. Shall we, who fear not Indra even, be
threatened and browbeaten by the weak sons of Pandu ?
No warrior lives who can overcome us. A Kshatriya
fears no foeman ; he may fall in battle, but he will never
yield. So have the sages spoken, . . . Hear me, my
kinsmen all! My sire gifted Indra-prastha to the Pan-
davas in a moment of weakness. Never, so long as I
and my brother live, will they possess it again. Never
again will the kingdom of Maharajah Dhritarashtra be
severed in twain. It has been united, and so will remain
for ever. My words are firm and plain. So tell thou
the Pandavas, O Krishna, that they ask in vain for
territory. Nor town nor village will they again possess
with my consent. I swear by the gods that I will never
humble myself before the Pandavas."
Said Krishna: "How canst thou speak in such a man-
ner, O Duryodhana ? How canst thou pretend that thou
didst never wrong thy kinsmen ? Be mindful of thine
evil thoughts and deeds."
Duhsasana whispered to his elder brother: "I fear>
if thou dost not make peace with the Pandavas, the
elders will seize thee and send thee as a prisoner to
Then angry Duryodhana spoke, while his eyes burned
bright and his brows hung darkly, and said: "Krishna
counsels me to be just, yet he hateth me and loveth the
Pandavas. Bishma scowls upon me, and Vidura and
Drona look coldly on; my sire weeps for my sins. Yet
what have I done that ye, O elders, should turn my
sire's affection from me? If Yudhishthira loved gam-
bling and staked and lost his throne and freedom, am
I to blame? If he played a second time after being set
at liberty, and became an exile, why should he now call
me a robber? Pallid and inconstant is the star of the
Pandavas' destiny: their friends are few, and feeble is
their army. Shall we, who fear not Indra even, be
threatened and browbeaten by the weak sons of Pandu ?
No warrior lives who can overcome us. A Kshatriya
fears no foeman ; he may fall in battle, but he will never
yield. So have the sages spoken, . . . Hear me, my
kinsmen all! My sire gifted Indra-prastha to the Pan-
davas in a moment of weakness. Never, so long as I
and my brother live, will they possess it again. Never
again will the kingdom of Maharajah Dhritarashtra be
severed in twain. It has been united, and so will remain
for ever. My words are firm and plain. So tell thou
the Pandavas, O Krishna, that they ask in vain for
territory. Nor town nor village will they again possess
with my consent. I swear by the gods that I will never
humble myself before the Pandavas."
Said Krishna: "How canst thou speak in such a man-
ner, O Duryodhana ? How canst thou pretend that thou
didst never wrong thy kinsmen ? Be mindful of thine
evil thoughts and deeds."
Duhsasana whispered to his elder brother: "I fear>
if thou dost not make peace with the Pandavas, the
elders will seize thee and send thee as a prisoner to