his paternal kingdom, and how he hath passed a life of unendurable hardships, are known to all the kings assembled here. The sons of Dhritarashtra are incapable of overcoming by strength Arjuna, the son of Pritha. Nevertheless, king Yudhishthira and his friends have no other desire than the good of Dhritarashtra’s son. These brave sons of Kunti, and the two sons of Madri, ask for only what they themselves, achieving victory in battle, had won from the defeated kings. You, no doubt, know full well how those enemies of the Pandavas--with the object of possessing themselves of the kingdom, endeavoured by various means to destroy them, when they were yet mere boys, so wicked and rancorous they were. Consider, how grasping they are and how virtuous Yudhishthira is. Consider also the relationship that exists between them. I beseech you all to consult together and also think separately. The Pandavas have always had a regard for truth. They have fulfilled their promise to the very letter. If now treated wrongfully by the sons of Dhritarashtra, they would slay them all though banded together. They have friends, who, on being informed of their unworthy treatment at the hands of others, would stand by them, engaged in fight with their persecutors, and willingly slay them even if they should lose their own lives for it. If you suppose them to be too few to be capable of winning a victory over their enemies, you must know that united together and followed by their friends, they would, no doubt, try their utmost to destroy those enemies. What Duryodhana thinks is not exactly known, nor what he may do. When the mind of the other side is not known, what opinion can be formed by you as to what is best to be done? Therefore, let a person, virtuous and honest and of respectable birth, and wary,--an able ambassador, set out to beseech them mildly for inducing them to give half the kingdom to Yudhishthira. Having listened to the speech of Krishna, marked by prudence and a regard for virtue and showing a pacific and impartial spirit, his elder brother then addressed the assembly bestowing high encomiums on the words of the younger brother.’” SECTION II