Duryodhana said: "Fear not, O king. Nor should you grieve for us. O king, O lord, we are fully able to conquer the enemy in battle. When the Parthas were exiled to the forests, the slayer of Madhu came to them with a vast army arrayed for war, capable of crushing hostile kingdoms; and Kekaya and Dhrishtaketu also came to them, and Dhrishtadyumna of Prithu's line, and many other kings in their retinue; and all these great car-warriors gathered at a place not far from Indraprastha and, having assembled together, condemned you and all the Kurus. And, O Bharata, all these warriors with Krishna at their head paid their respects to Yudhishthira, clad in deerskins and seated among them. And all these kings then urged Yudhishthira that he should reclaim his kingdom. And all of them wished to kill you along with all your followers. And having heard all this, O bull of the Bharata race, I approached Bhishma, Drona, and Kripa, seized by fear, O king, at the prospect of the destruction threatening our kinsmen. And I said to them: 'I think the Pandavas will not abide by the agreement they concluded; Vasudeva desires our utter annihilation. I also think that all of you, except for Vidura, will be slain, though Dhritarashtra, chief of the Kurus and versed in righteousness, will not take part in the slaughter. O lord, having accomplished our total destruction, Janardana wishes to bestow the whole kingdom of the Kurus upon Yudhishthira. What should be done? Shall we surrender, or flee, or fight the enemy, abandoning all hope of life? If we truly stand against them, our defeat is certain, since all the kings of the earth are under Yudhishthira's command. All the people of the kingdom are displeased with us, and all our friends too are angry with us. All the kings of the earth speak ill of us, and especially all our friends and kinsmen. There can be no fault in our surrender, for from time immemorial it has been known that the weaker side sues for peace. Yet I grieve for this lord of men, my blind father, upon whom, because of me, endless grief and suffering may fall. [You, O king, already knew before this that all your other sons opposed the enemy only to please me.] These mighty car-warriors, the sons of Pandu, will indeed avenge their wrongs by destroying the entire line of King Dhritarashtra along with all his counselors.' Hostile though these actions of ours may be, they will not be able to defeat us once we take the field."