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82.THE SINDHU KING
NEWS of Arjuna's oath reached the
enemy. The spies informed Duryodhana's
friends that Arjuna, having learnt that
Jayadratha was the cause of Abhimanyu's
death, had vowed to kill the Sindhu king
before sunset next day.
Vriddhakshatra, the illustrious king of the
Sindhus, was blessed with a son, who was
named Jayadratha. At the time of the birth
of the prince, a voice was heard to say:
"This prince will attain great glory and he
will attain the happy regions above, slain
in battle. One who, among the warriors of
all ages, ranks among the most illustrious
will, in the field of battle, sever his head
from the body."
All living beings must die but hardly any,
however wise or brave, welcome it.
Vriddhakshatra was grieved to hear the
voice declare his son's end.
In his disturbed state of mind, he uttered a
curse: "He, who shall cause my son's head
to roll down on the ground, shall have his
head burst at that very moment into
fragments."
Jayadratha grew up and, when he reached
manhood, Vriddhakshatra handed over the
care of the State to the prince. He retired
to the forest, where he spent the evening
of his days in austerities in an ashrama
near the plain, which afterwards became
the Kurukshetra field of battle.
When Jayadratha came to know about
Arjuna's vow, he remembered the
prediction about his death and feared his
end was near.
"I do not want to be in this battle any
longer. Let me go back to my country," he
said to Duryodhana.
"Do not fear, Saindhava," replied
Duryodhana. "Here are all these veterans
and warriors who will stand between you
and danger. Karna, Chitrasena, Vivimsati,
Bhurisravas, Salya, Vrishasena,
Purumitra, Jaya, Bhoja, Kamboja,
Sudakshina, Satyavrata, Vikarna,
Durmukha, Duhsasana, Subahu, Kalinga,
the Avanti princes, Drona, Drona's
illustrious son and Sakuni all these
warriors and I myself are here and you
cannot be in danger. The whole of my
army will have but one task today, to
defend you against Arjuna. You should
not leave us now." Jayadratha agreed to
remain. He went to Drona and said to him:
"Master, you taught me and Arjuna and
you know us both well. What is your
appraisal of us two?"
"Son, I discharged my duties as teacher
and dealt with you both impartially. The
instruction was the same to you and to
Arjuna, but Arjuna excels because of his
superior discipline and his own practice.
But, you need not be discouraged by this.
You will be placed behind a strong force
that Arjuna cannot easily pierce. Fight
according to the tradition of your
ancestors. Death comes to us all, cowards
as well as brave men
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