"O Savyasachin, you will have to fight your enemies. Either Indra, mounted on his splendid steed with the thunderbolt in hand, will go before you, slaying your foes in battle, or Krishna, the son of Vasudeva, will guard your rear, riding on his chariot yoked with horses headed by Sugriva." Relying on these words, in this battle that surpasses even Indra, the wielder of the thunderbolt, I chose Vasudeva as my ally. This Krishna was granted to me for the destruction of these wicked men. In all this I see the hand of the gods. A man whose success Krishna alone desires, even without Krishna actually taking up arms on his behalf, is bound to triumph over all enemies, even were they the celestials headed by Indra — how much less trouble, then, if they are but men. Whoever wishes to defeat in battle the greatest of heroes, the son of Vasudeva, Krishna, endowed with immense power, wishes to cross with his two bare hands the vast ocean of boundless expanse and immeasurable water. Whoever wishes to shatter the lofty peak of Kailasa with a blow of the palm will not manage to inflict the slightest harm upon it, though his hand, nails and all, will surely be worn away. Whoever would defeat Vasudeva in battle would extinguish a blazing fire with his two bare hands, halt the Sun and the Moon, and by force plunder the Amrita of the gods — this same Vasudeva, who, mowing down in battle, with his main forces, all the royal warriors of the Bhoja race, carried off on a single chariot Rukmini, renowned for having made her his wife; and from her was afterward born the great-souled Pradyumna. It was this favorite of the gods who, swiftly routing the Gandharas and subduing all the sons of Nagnajit, forcibly freed from captivity the king of immense power, Sudarshana. It was he who slew the king of the Pandyas, striking him breast to breast, and advanced into battle against the Kalingas. The city of Varanasi, burned by him, remained without a king for many years, unable to be conquered by others. Ekalavya, king of the Nishadas, always challenged this man to battle; but, slain by Krishna, he lay dead like the Asura Jambha, cruelly beaten upon the hill. It was Krishna who, with Baladeva as his second, slew the wicked son of Ugrasena (Kamsa), seated in the assembly among the Vrishnis and Andhakas, and then gave the kingdom to Ugrasena. It was Krishna who fought the king Shalva, lord of Saubha, stationed in the sky, fearless because of his power of illusion; and it was he who, at the gates of Saubha, caught with his own hands the fierce Shataghni hurled by the lord of Saubha.