Saying so the celestial Rishi Narada became silent. the royal sage Yudhishthira, filled with sorrow began to meditate.

Seeing that hero cheerless and unnerved by grief, sighing like a snake and shedding profuse tears, Kunti, herself filled with grief and almost beside herself with sorrow, addressed him in these sweet but weighty

O mighty-armed Yudhishthira, you should not give way to sorrow thus! O you of at wisdom, destroy this grief and listen to what I say.

I tried formerly to inform Karna of his being your brother. The god Surya also, O best of all righteous men, did the same.

That god said to Karna in a dream and once more in my presence, all that a well-wishing friend, from desire of good, should say.

Neither by affliction nor by reasons could Surya or myself succeed in pacifying him or inducing him to join you.

Yielding to the influence of Time, he was determined on creating enmity with you. As he was determined upon doing injuries to you all, I myself gave up the attempt.'

Thus addressed by his mother, king Yudhishthira, with tearful eyes and heart shaken by grief, said:-

'For you having concealed your counsels, this great calamity has befallen me.' The highly energetic and the righteous king then, in sorrow, cursed all the women of the world, saying,-'Henceforth no woman shall succeed in keeping a secret."

Recollecting his sons and grandsons and kinsmen and friends, the king then became filled with anxiety and grief.

Stricken with sorrow, the intelligent king, resembling a fire covered with smoke, was filled with despair. Then the wise king endued with grief like the fire covered in the grip of dense smoke and thus he sank in agony.