'O mother, strange and unseemly is thy bidding. Ill accord thy noble birth and this faintness of spirit. Shame on thee, without natural affection, in that thou dost forget the cruel fate of thy hundred sons in seeking to save my life.' In vain is Dhṛtarāṣṭra's manly appeal to him:[1]
dāyādā na yayor balena gaṇitās tau Droṇabhīṣmau hatau
Karṇasyātmajam agrataḥ çamayato bhītaṁ jagat Phālgunāt
vatsānāṁ nidhanena me tvayi ripuḥ çeṣapratijño 'dhunā
krodhaṁ vairiṣu muñca vatsa pitarāv andhāv imau pālaya.
'Slain are Droṇa and Bhīṣma whose peers none were deemed in might; all shrank in terror before Arjuna as he slew Karṇa's son before his eyes; my dear ones slain, the foe's whole aim is against thee now; lay aside thine anger with thy foes, and guard these thy blind parents.' Admirably expressed is Bhīma's wild fury when he disdains Yudhiṣṭhira's effort to secure peace:[2]
mathnāmi Kauravaçataṁ samare na kopād: Duḥçāsanasya
rudhiraṁ na pibāmy urastaḥ
saṁcūrṇayāmi gadayā na Suyodhanoru: sandhiṁ karotu bhavatāṁ nṛpatiḥ paṇena.
'Shall I not in anger crush the hundred Kauravas in battle; shall I not drink the blood from Duḥçāsana's breast; shall I not break with my club the thighs of Duryodhana, although your master buy peace at a price?' Admirable also is his description of the sacrifice of battle:[3]
catvāro vayam ṛtvijaḥ sa bhagavān karmopadeṣṭā hariḥ
saṁgrāmadhvaradīkṣito narapatiḥ patnī gṛhītavratā
Kauravyāḥ paçavaḥ priyāparibhavakleçopaçāntiḥ phalam
rājanyopanimantraṇāya rasati sphītaṁ yaçodundubhiḥ.
'We are the four priests, and the blessed Hari himself directs the rite; the king has consecrated himself for the sacrament of battle, the queen has taken on herself the vow; the Kauravyas are the victims, the end to be achieved the extinction of our loved one's bitterness of shame at the insult done her; loudly the drum of fame summons the warrior to the fray.' Equally effective is his summing up of his feat:[4]
bhūmau kṣiptaṁ çarīraṁ nihitam idam asṛk candanam Bhīmagātre
