Yudhishthira said You have said, O grandfather, that conduct is the first thing (for a man). Whence, however, does Hope arise? Tell me what it is.

This great doubt has occupied my mind. There is no other person than you, Osubjugator of hostile towns, who can remove it!

O grandfather, I had great hope about Suyodhana that when a battle was about to take place, he would, O lord, do what was proper.

Hope is tne sheet-anchor of every man. When that hope is destroyed, great grief follows which, forsooth, is almost equal to death itself.

Fool that I am, Dhritarashtra's wicked son, Duryodhana, destroyed the hope I had entertained. Mark, O king, the foolishness of my mind.

I think that hope is bigger than a mountain with all its trees. Or, perhaps, it is bigger than the sky itself. Or, perhaps, O king, it is really immeasurable.

Hope, O chief of the Kurus, is highly difficult of being understood and equally difficult of being conquered. Seeing this last attribute of Hope, I ask, what else is so unconquerable as this?

Bhishma said I shall describe to you, O Yudhishthira, regarding it, the discourse between Sumitra and Rishabha that took place in days of yore, Listen to it!

A royal sage of the Haihaya family, Sumitra by namre, went a hunting. Having pierced a deer with a straight arrow, he pursued it.

Endued with great strength, the deer ran ahead, with the arrow sticking to him. The king was equally powerful, and accordingly pursued his precious game with great speed.

The animal, highly fleet, quickly ran a low ground and then a level plain.

The king, young, active, and strong, and armed with bow and sword and protected with a coat of mail, still pursued it.

Having none with him to chase the animal through the forest, the king crossed many rivers and lakes.

Possessed of great fleetness the animal, at its will, appearing now and then before the king, ran on with great quickness.

Pierced with many arrows by the king, that wild animal, O monarch, as if in sport, again and again lessened the distance between itself and the pursuer.

Repeatedly showing its quickness and crossing one forest after another, it now and then appeared before the king at a near point.

At last, taking up a very excellent arrow, sharp, terrible, and capable of cutting the very vitals, the crusher of foes, set it on his bowstring.

That huge animal then, as if laughing at the pursuer's efforts, suddenly went to a great distance by reaching a point full four miles ahead of the range of the arrow.

That effulgent arrow accordingly fell on the ground. The deer entered a large forest, but the king still pursued it.