Vaishampayana said Having seen the two armies placed on the east and the west ready for the fearful fight, the holy Rishi Vyasa, the son of Satyavati, that foremost of all men learned in the Vedas, that grandfather of the Pandavas and the Kurus who knew the Past and the Present and the Future thus spoke in private to the king (Dhritarashtra) the son of Vichitravirya who was then distressed and afflicted with sorrow thinking of the evil propensities of his sons.

Vyasa said O king, the (last) moment of your sons and of other kings has arrived. They have assembled to fight and they will kill one another.

O descendant of Bharata, their (last) moment having arrived, they would now all perish. Reinembering the changes that are brought by Time, do not grieve.

O king, O child, if you wish to see them in battle, I shall bestow on you sight. Behold the battle.

Dhritarashtra said O foremost of Brahmarshis, I do not desire to see the slaughter of my friends and relatives. I shall, however, through your grace, hear the account of this battle, minutely described to me.

Vaishampayana said On his not wishing to see the battle but to hear of it, that giver of boons Vyasa bestowed a boon on Sanjaya.

Vyasa said ( king, this Sanjaya will describe to you this great battle. Nothing of the whole battle will remain unseen by him.

O king, possessing a possessing a celestial vision Sanjaya will narrate the battle to you. He will possess the knowledge of every thing regarding this battle.

Whether manifest or concealed whether occurring by day or by night, even what will be thought in the mind, will be known to Sanjaya.

Wcapons will not cut him, exertion will not cxhaust him, this son of Gavalgani will return from battle alive.

O foremost of the Bharata race, as for myself, I shall vad the fame of the Kurus and the Pandavas. Do not therefore grieve.

O foremost of men, this is destiny. You should not grieve. It is not to be prevented. As for victory, it would be there where righteousness would be.

Vaishampayana said That highly exalted and holy grand father of the Kurus, having said thus, again thus spoke to Dhritarashtra.

Vyasa said O king, there will be a great slaughter in this battle. I also see many omens that forebode evil.

Hawks and vultures and crows and herons and cranes are coming down on the top of trees and are assembling in great numbers.

These birds, becoming exceedingly glad at the prospect of the battle, are loO king down on the field of battle. Carnivorous beasts will feast on the flesh of elephants and horses.

Fearful herons, foreboding evil and uttering harsh cries, are going across the centre and are flying towards the south.

O descendant of Bharata, in both the twilights, morning and evening, I daily see the sun covered by headless trunks when rising or setting.

Three coloured clouds with their edges white and red and their middle black, charged with lightning and loO king like bludgeons, cover the sun in both the twilights.

I have seen the sun, the moon and the stars ablaze. No difference can be found in them in the evening, I have seen this all day and all night. All this forebodes evil.

Even in the night of the full moon in the month of Kartikeya the moon, having lost all its splendour, became invisible or looked like fire, the sky loO king like lotus.

many heroic rulers of earth, many kings and princes, possessing great bravery and weapons loO king like maces will all be killed. They will sleep covering the earth.

I during the night daily see in the sky the fearful cries of fighting boars and cats.

The images of gods and goddesses sometime smile, sometime tremble, and again vomit blood, perspire and drop down.

O king, drums without being beaten give out sounds. The great cars of the Kshatriyas move, though no animals are yoked to them.

Kokilas, wood packers, jaws, water cocks, parrots, crows, peacocks, all emit fearful cries,

Here and there everywhere horse men clad in armours and armed with weapons give out war cries. In the morning when the sun rises, hundreds of fights of insects are seen

O descendant of Bharata, in both the twilights, the four quarters appear to be ablaze. The clouds pour down dust and flesh.

O king, she who is celebrated over the three worlds and who is praised by the pious men, en that Arundhati (constellation) keeps Vasishtha on her back.

O king, the planet Shani appears with (the constellation) Rohini. The sign of the dear in the moon has deviated from its original position, a great evil is foreboded by all this.

Even when the sky is cloudless, even then fearful roars are heard there. The animals are all weeping and tears are falling fast from their eyes.