Shringaraprakasha 9.p1.12

9.p1.12

[12.187] As in the Veṇīsaṃhāra, when Yudhiṣṭhira, having heard from Cārvāka that Bhīma and Arjuna were slain by Duryodhana, desires to enter the funeral pyre together with Draupadī, / (behind the curtain, after a tumultuous uproar): / "Ho, ho, wanderers of the Syamantapañcaka field, crowded with yakṣas, rākṣasas, piśācas, bhūtas, and vetālas drunk on the liquor of blood, and with herons, jackals, owls, and crows, where warriors are few! Enough of fear at the sight of me! / Tell me, in what place is the daughter of Yajñasena present? / I will state her identifying mark: / She whose clothes were snatched away before Duryodhana, who was playfully slapping his thighs with his hand; / she whose crest was torn by Duḥśāsana's dragging of her hair—tell me, in what place again is that Draupadī?" / Chamberlain: "Alas, Queen born of the sacrificial altar, you are now humiliated, helpless, by the stain on the Kuru race!" / [12.188] Yudhiṣṭhira (rising in agitation): "Queen, daughter of Yajñasena, do not fear, do not fear! / Who, who is here? Bring my bow along with the quiver! / Vile wretch of a Duryodhana, come, come! / With a shower of arrows I shall take away the pride of your arms amassed by your skill with the mace! / And furthermore, O cinder of the Kuru race: / Not seeing that dear younger brother who wrestled Jarasandha, and that child who fought with the angry Hara as a Kirāta, / I am not able, being hard-hearted like you, to remain alive, / except indeed to snatch away your vital breaths with rains of arrows!" / (Then enters Bhīmasena as described.) / Bhīmasena: "Ho, ho, soldiers roaming the Syamantapañcaka field, what is this agitation? / I am no rākṣasa, nor a bhūta; / though my body is exceedingly drenched with the waters of enemy blood, / and I have crossed the deep ocean of a mighty vow, I am an irascible Kṣatriya! / Ho, ho, warrior kings remaining after being burnt by the flames of the fire of battle! Enough of this fear of yours, / on account of which you sit concealed, hidden behind slain elephants and horses! / Let you tell me in what place the princess of Pañcāla is staying!" / Chamberlain: "Queen, daughter-in-law of Pāṇḍu, arise, arise!"