" said.--'O , thou you shouldst should not be jealous of . The sons of are enjoying what they deserve in consequence of their own good fortune. O slayer of foes, O great king, thou you couldst could not destroy them by repeatedly devising numberless plans, many of which thou you hadst had even put to practice. Those tigers among men out of sheer luck escaped all those machinations. They have obtained for wife and with his sons as also of great prowess as allies, capable of helping them in subjugating the whole world. And O king, having inherited the paternal share of the kingdom without being deprived of it they have grown in consequence of their own energy. What is there to make thee you sorry for this? Having gratified Hustasana, hath has obtained the bow Gandiva and the couple of inexhaustible quivers and many celestial weapons. With that unique bow and by the strength of his own arms also he hath has brought all the kings of the world under his sway. What is there to make thee you sorry for this? Having saved the Asura from a conflagration, , that slayer of foes, using both his hands with equal skill, caused him to build that assembly house. And it is for this also that commanded by , those grim Rakshasas called Kinkaras supported that assembly house. What is there in this to make thee you sorry? Thou you hast have said, O king, that thou you art without allies. This, O Bharata, is not true. These thy your brothers are obedient to thee you. of great prowess and wielding the large bow along with his son, Radha's son , the great warrior (), myself with my brothers and king Saumadatti--these are thy your allies. Uniting thyself with these, conquer thou you the whole of the earth.'
" said,--'O king, with thee you, as also with these great warriors, I shall subjugate the Pandavas, if it pleases thee you. If I can now subjugate them, the world will be mine and all the monarchs, and that assembly house so full of wealth.'
" replied,--' and , and , and and with his sons,--these cannot be vanquished in battle by even the celestials, for they are all great warriors wielding the largest bows, accomplished in weapons, and delighting in battle. But, O king, I know the means by which himself may be vanquished. Listen to me and adopt it.'
" said,--'without danger to our friends and other illustrious men, O uncle, tell me if there is any way by which I may vanquish him.'
" said,--'The son of is very fond of dice-play although he doth does not know how to play. That king if asked to play, is ill able to refuse. I am skillful at dice. There is none equal to me in this respect on earth, no, not even in the three worlds, O son of Kuru. Therefore, ask him to play at dice. Skilled at dice, I will win his kingdom, and that splendid prosperity of his for thee you, O bull among men. But, O , represent all this unto to the king (). Commanded by thy your father I will win without doubt the whole of 's possessions.'
" said 'O son of , thou you thyself represent properly all this to , the chief of the Kurus. I shall not be able to do so.
said--"O king, impressed with the great Rajasuya sacrifice of king , , the son of , having learnt before the intentions of , while accompanying him in the way from the assembly house, and desirous of saying what was agreeable to him, approached endued with great wisdom, and finding the monarch deprived of his eye seated (in his throne), told him these words,--'Know, O great king, O bull of the Bharata race, that , having lost colour, hath has become pale and emaciated and depressed and a prey to anxiety. Why dost do thou you not, after due enquiry, ascertain the grief that is in the heart of thy your eldest son, the grief that is caused by the foe?'
" said,--', what is the reason of thy your great affliction. O son of the Kuru race? If it is fit for me to hear it, then tell me the reason. This here says that thou you hast have lost colour, become pale and emaciated, and a prey to anxiety. I do not know what can be the reason of the sorrow. This vast wealth of mine is at thy your control. Thy your brothers and all our relations never do anything that is disagreeable to thee you. Thou you wearest wear the best apparel and eatest eat the best food that is prepared with meat. The best of horse carries thee you. What it is, therefore, that hath has made thee you pale and emaciated? Costly beds, beautiful damsels, mansions decked with excellent furniture, and sport of the delightful kind, without doubt these all wait but at thy your command, as in the case of the gods themselves Therefore, O proud one, why dost do thou you grieve, O son, as if thou you wert were destitute.'
" said,--'I eat and dress myself like a wretch and pass my time all the while a prey to fierce jealousy. He indeed is a man, who incapable of bearing the pride of the foe, liveth lives having vanquished that foe with the desire of liberating his own subjects from the tyranny of the foe. Contentment, as also pride, O Bharata, are destructive of prosperity; and those other two qualities also, viz., compassion and fear. One who acteth acts under the influence of these, never obtaineth obtains anything high. Having beheld 's prosperity, whatever I enjoy brings me no gratification. The prosperity of 's son that is possessed of such splendour maketh makes me pale. Knowing the affluence of the foe and my own destitution, even though that affluence is not before me, I yet see it before me. Therefore, have I lost colour and become melancholy, pale and emaciated. supporteth supports eighty-eight thousand Snataka Brahmanas leading domestic lives, giving unto to each of them thirty slave-girls. Beside this, thousand other Brahmanas daily eat at his palace the best of food on golden plates. The king of Kambhoja sent unto to him (as tribute) innumerable skins, black, darkish, and red, of the deer Kadali, as also numberless blankets of excellent textures. And hundreds and thousands and thousands of she-elephants and thirty thousand she-camels wander within the palace, for the kings of the earth brought them all as tribute to the capital of the Pandavas. And, O lord of earth, the kings also brought unto to this foremost of sacrifices heaps upon heaps of jewels and gems for the son of . Never before did I see or hear of such enormous wealth as was brought unto to the sacrifice of the intelligent sons of . And, O king, beholding that enormous collection of wealth belonging to the foe, I can not enjoy peace of mind. Hundreds of Brahmanas supported by the grants that hath has given them and possessing wealth of kine, waited at the palace gate with three thousands of millions of tribute but were prevented by the keepers from entering the mansion. Bringing with them clarified butter in handsome Kamandalus made of gold, they did not obtain admission into the palace, and Ocean himself brought unto to him in vessels of white copper the nectar that is generated within his waters and which is much superior to that which flowers and annual plants produce for . And (at the conclusion of the sacrifice) having brought an excellent conch bathed the Sun of with sea water brought in thousand jars of gold, all well adorned with numerous gems. Beholding all this I became feverish with jealousy. Those jars had been taken to the Eastern and the Southern oceans. And they had also been taken on the shoulders of men to the Western ocean, O bull among men. And, O father, although none but birds only can go to the Northern region , having gone thither there, exacted as tribute a vast quantity of wealth. There is another wonderful incident also which I will relate to thee you. O listen to me. When a hundred thousand Brahmanas were fed, it had been arranged that to notify this act every day conches would be blown in a chorus. But, O Bharata, I continually heard conches blown there almost repeatedly. And hearing those notes my hair stood on end. And, O great king, that palatial compound, filled with innumerable monarchs that came there as spectators, looked exceedingly handsome like the cloudless firmament with stars. And, O king of men, the monarchs came into that sacrifice of the wise son of bringing with them every kind of wealth. And the kings that came there became like Vaisyas the distributors of food unto to the Brahmanas that were fed. And O king, the prosperity that I beheld of was such that neither the chief himself of the celestials, nor or , nor the lord of the Guhyakas owneth owns the same. And beholding that great prosperity of the son of , my heart burneth burns and I cannot enjoy peace.
"Hearing these words of , replied,--'Hear how thou you mayest may obtain this unrivalled prosperity that thou you beholdest behold in the son of , O thou you that hast have truth for thy your prowess. O Bharata, I am an adept at dice, superior to all in the world. I can ascertain the success or otherwise of every throw, and when to stake and when not. I have special knowledge of the game. The Son of also is fond of dice playing though he possesseth possesses little skill in it. Summoned to play or battle, he is sure to come forward, and I will defeat him repeatedly at every throw by practising deception. I promise to win all that wealth of his, and thou you, O , shalt shall then enjoy the same.'"
continued,--"King , thus addressed by , without allowing a moment to elapse, said unto to ,--'This, , an adept at dice, is ready to win at dice, O king, the wealth of the sons of . It behoveth behooves thee you to grant him permission to do so.'
" replied,--'I always follow the counsels of , my minister possessed of great wisdom. Having consulted with him, I will inform thee you what my judgment is in respect of this affair. Endued with great foresight, he will, keeping morality before his eyes, tell us what is good and what is proper for both parties, and what should be done in this matter.'
" said,--'If thou you consultest with he will make thee you desist. And if thou you desist, O king, I will certainly kill myself. And when I am dead, O king, thou you wilt will become happy with . Thou you wilt will then enjoy the whole earth; what need hast have thou you with me?'"
continued,--", hearing these words of affliction uttered by from mixed feeling, himself ready to what had dictated, commanded his servant, saying,--'Let artificers be employed to erect without delay a delightful and handsome and spacious palace with an hundred doors and a thousand columns. And having brought carpenters and joiners, set ye you jewels and precious stones all over the walls. And making it handsome and easy of access, report to me when everything is complete. And, O monarch, king having made this resolution for the pacification of , sent messengers unto to for summoning him. For without taking counsel with never did the monarch form any resolution. But as regards the matter at hand, the king although he knew the evils of gambling, was yet attracted towards it. The intelligent , however, as soon as he heard of it, knew that the arrival of Kali was at hand. And seeing that the way to destruction was about to open, he quickly came to . And approaching his illustrious eldest brother and bowing down unto to his feet, said these words:
'O exalted king, I do not approve of this resolution that thou you hast have formed. It behave thee you, O king, to act in such a way that no dispute may arise between thy your children on account of this gambling match.'
replied,--'O , if the gods be merciful unto to us, assuredly no dispute will ever arise amongst my sons. Therefore, auspicious or otherwise, beneficial or otherwise, let this friendly challenge at dice proceed. Even this without doubt is what fate hath has ordained for us. And, O son of the Bharata race, when I am near, and and and thou you too, nothing evil that even Fate might have ordained is likely to happen. Therefore, go thou you on a car yoking thereto horses endued with the speed of the wind, so that thou you mayest may reach Khandavaprastha even today and bring thou you with thee you. And, O , I tell that even this is my resolution. Tell me nothing. I regard Fate as supreme which bringeth brings all this.' Hearing these words of and concluding that his race was doomed, in great sorrow went unto to with great wisdom."