Approaching him of incomparable deeds, he who is unrivalled in beauty on earth, he who has mastered all branches of learning, that occan of qualities, the faultless Ashvatthaman, your son said to him these words-. "O preceptor's son, you are today our highest refuge? Tell us, therefore, who should be the commander of my army now, placing whom at our head, all of us, united together, may defeat the Pandavas?"