Karna said: O Duryodhana, in my opinion your reasoning are not well-founded. O perpetuator of the Kuru race, no machinations will succeed against the Pandavas.

O hero, you have formerly tried to accomplish your wishes by various subtlc means, but you have not been successful in killing them.

O. king, they were then living near you, they were then mere children, they were then without allies and friends, still you could nor injure them.

They are now living at a distance, they are now grown up and they are now stronger by securing allies. It is my firm belief that you will not be able to injure them now with any subtle machinations.

They are aided by Fate. When they are desirous of regaining the place of their fathers and grandfathers, we can never succeed to injure them by any means of ours.

It is impossible to create disunion amongst them. They can never be disunited who have taken a common wife.

We can never succeed in estranging Krishna (Draupadi) from them by any spies. she choose them as her husband when they were in adversity, they are now in prosperity.

Women generally desire to have many husbands, Krishna has got it; she can never be estranged from them.

The Panchala king is honest and virtuous, he is not covetous for wealth. Even if we offer him our whole kingdom, he will certainly not abandon the sons of Kunti.

His son is also well-accomplished and has become attached to the Pandavas; therefore, I think by no subtle machinations that are in your power, you will be able to injure them.

O best of men, this is what is good and advisable for us to-day, namely, O king, to attack and smite them till the Pandavas are exterminated. O sire, consent to this. As long as our party is strong and that of the Panchalas weak, so long let us strike them without scruple.

O son of Gandhari, O king, as long as their innumerable conveyances, their friends and relatives, do not gather together, so long continue to display your prowess.

O king, as long as the Panchala king with his greatly powerful son does not resolve to fight with us, so long display your prowess.

As long as Vasudeva, Krishna, does not march with the Yadava hosts into the city of the Panchala king in order to restore the Pandavas to their kingdom, so long display your prowess.

Wealth, articles of enjoyments, kingdom, nay their is nothing which Krishna may not sacrifice for the Pandavas,

The whole earth was acquired by the illustrious Bharata by his prowess. Indra has obtained the sovereignty of three worlds by prowess alone.

O king, prowess is always admired in a Kshatriya. O best of kings, prowess is the cardinal virtue of the heroes.

O king, therefore, without any further delay let us with our large army of four kinds of troops vanquish Drupada and bring here the Pandavas.

The Pandavas cannot be defeated by any policy of conciliation, of gift, of wealth, of bribery or of disunion. Therefore, vanquish them by your prowess.

O king, after defeating them by your prowess, rule over the wide world. I do not see any other means of becoming successful in our object.

Vaishampayana said : Hearing what the son of Radha (Karna) said, the powerful Dhritarashtra gave him high praise and he then spoke to him thus-

"O son of Suta, you are gifted with great wisdom and you are highly accomplished in arms. Such words breathing the spirit of heroism are surely worthy of you.

But let Bhishma, Drona and Vidura and also you two, consult together and then adopt that means which may lead to our good."

Thereupon, the greatly illustrious king Dhritarashtra summoned to him all those councillors and consulted with them.