Sunday, July 3, 2011

The Immortals...


Herodotus describes the ruinous passion for play amongst the Scythic 
hordes, and which may have been carried west by Odin into Scandinavia 
and Germany. Tacitus tells us that the Germans, like the Pandus, staked 
even iiersonal liberty, and were sold as slaves by the winner.

On which the empire of India has since more than once been 
contested and lost.This combat was fatal to the dominant influence of the " fifty- six tribes of Yadu." On each of its eighteen days' combat, myriads 
were slain ; for " the father knew not the son, nor the disciple his 
preceptor." 

Victory brought no happiness to Yudhishthira. The slaughter 
of his friends disgusted him with the world, and he determined 
to withdraw from it ; previously performing, at Hastinapura, 
funeral rites for Duryodhana , 
whose ambition and bad faith had originated this exterminating 
war. " Having regained his kingdom, he proclaimed a new era, 
and placing on the throne of Indraprastha, Parikshita, grandson 
to Arjuna, retired to Dwarka with Krishna and Baldeva : and 
since the war to the period of writing.

Yudhishthira, Baldeva, and Krishna, having retired with the 
wreck of this ill-fated struggle to Dwarka, the two former had 
soon to lament the death of Krishna, slain by one of the aboriginal 
tribes of Bhils ; against whom, from their shattered condition, 
they were luiable to contend. After this event, Yudhishthira, 
with Baldeva and a few followers, entirely withdrew from 
India, and emigrating northwards, by Sind, to the Himalayan 
mountains, are there abandoned by Hindu traditional history, 
and are supposed to have perished in the snows.'