"One blow, O king, which I may deal to Bhima, will, O hero, without doubt send him without delay to the abode of Yama. O king, I long to see the mace in Vrikodara's hand. This has long been my desire. Struck in battle by my mace, Vrikodara, son of Pritha, will fall lifeless to the ground, his limbs shattered. From the blow of my mace, the mountains of Himavat might split into a hundred thousand fragments. Vrikodara himself, as well as Vasudeva and Arjuna, knows this truth, that there is none equal to Duryodhana in the wielding of the mace. Therefore let your fears on account of Vrikodara be dispelled, for I will surely kill him in fierce combat. Do not yield, O king, to melancholy. And after I have slain him, numerous car-warriors of equal or surpassing strength, O bull among the Bharatas, will quickly overthrow Arjuna. Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, and the son of Drona, Karna and Bhurishravas, Shalya, the king of Pragjyotisha, and Jayadratha, king of Sindhu — each of them, O Bharata, is capable of killing the Pandavas alone. United together, they will dispatch Arjuna to the abode of Yama in an instant. Indeed, there is no reason why the combined army of all the kings should fail to defeat Dhananjaya alone. Enveloped a hundredfold in immeasurable arrows loosed by Bhishma, Drona, Drona's son, and Kripa, and drained of strength, the son of Pritha will have to journey to the abode of Yama. Our grandfather, born of Ganga, O Bharata, surpasses Shantanu himself. Like a reborn sage whom even the celestials cannot withstand, he was born among men. There is no slayer of Bhishma on earth, O king, for his father, well pleased, granted him this boon: 'You shall not die save at your own wish.' And Drona was born in a water-vessel from the reborn sage Bharadvaja. And from Drona was born his son, master of the highest weapons. And this greatest of teachers, Kripa, was likewise born from the great sage Gautama. Born amid heather, this illustrious man, I believe, cannot be slain. Again, O king, the father, mother, and maternal uncle of Ashvatthaman — these three — were not born from a woman's womb. This hero too is on my side. All these mighty car-warriors, O king, are like the celestials and can, O bull of the Bharata race, cause pain even to Shakra himself in battle. Arjuna is not capable of even looking upon any one of them alone. United together, these tigers among men will surely slay Dhananjaya. I hold that Karna, too, is equal to Bhishma, Drona, and Kripa."