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2024-03-28, 10:47 PM |
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Chapter
1: Questions
by Vidura
(1) S'uka said: 'This is what formerly Vidura asked
His Grace Maitreya Rishi when he entered the forest after renouncing
his prosperous home: (2) 'What to say
about the house [of the Pândavas] I am identified with?
S'rî Krishna, the Supreme Lord and master of all, was accepted as
the minister of its people and had given up entering the house of
Duryodhana.'
(3) The king said: 'Please tell us master, where and when met
Vidura
with His Grace Maitreya Rishi to discuss this? (4) Certainly the questions Vidura asked the
holy man cannot have been unimportant, they must have been full of the
highest purpose as is approved by the seekers of truth.'
(5) Sûta said: "He, the great sage S'ukadeva
thus being questioned by King Parîkchit, fully satisfied replied,
speaking from his great expertise: 'Please listen to this.'
(6) S'rî S'ukadeva said: 'During the time King Dhritarâshthra was
raising his dishonest sons, he who never walked the straight path had
lost his sight being the guardian of the sons of his younger brother
[the deceased Pându, see family tree]. He
let them enter the laquer house which he next set on fire [see
Mahâbhârata I 139-148]. (7)
When in the assembly the wife of the saintly Kurus [Draupadî] was
insulted by his son [Duhs'âsana] who grabbed her by her hair, the
king did not forbid this, although his daughter-in-law shed tears that
washed the red dust of her breast [see Mahâbhârata II
58-73]. (8) When by unfair means he who was without an
enemy [Yudhishthhira] was defeated in a game of gambling and as someone
faithful to the truth went to the forest, he upon returning was never
alotted the share that was promised
by him who was overcome by
illusion [Dhritarâshthra]. (9)
Also Lord Krishna, when He on
the plea of Arjuna for their
sake appeared in the assembly as
the teacher of the world, was, with His words as good as nectar, by the king not taken seriously among all the men of sense whose last bit of piety was dwindling.
(10) When Vidura
by
his
elder brother
[Dhritarâshthra] was called to
the
palace,
he
had entered there
for consultation and the advice
that he then with his directions
gave was exactly what the
ministers of state
could appreciate: (11) 'Return
now
the
legitimate
share
to
the
one
who
has
no
enemy
[Yudhishthhira]
and
who
was so patient with your unbearable offenses. You better be afraid of him and his younger brothers, of whom we
know Bhîma to be as angry and wrathful as a snake. (12)
The sons of Prithâ are now adopted by the Supreme Lord of
Liberation who at present supported by the brahmins and the godly ones,
resides with
His
family,
the
honorable
Yadu
dynasty,
that together with Him has
defeated an unlimited amount of kings. (13)
He [Duryodhana], this bad guy
you consider your son, stepped forward in your household
as an enemy of the Original Person. You thus having turned against
Krishna are therefore bereft of all goodness - that inauspiciousness
you must, for the sake of the family, give up as soon as possible.'
(14) After these words of Vidura Duryodhana
addressed him on the spot. Swollen with anger and with trembling lips,
he insulted the respectable one of good qualities in the company of
Karna, his younger brothers and S'akuni [a maternal uncle] saying: (15) 'Who asked him to be here, this
bastard son of a maid-servant who grew up living on the cost of those
he betrays as an enemy spy? Throw him immediately out of the palace to
be left with his breath only!' (16) Vidura on his turn immediately put his bow
at the door and left the palace of his brother, being hurt in the core
of his heart by the violence aimed at him. But despite of these arrows
so painful to the ear, he was unperturbed and felt great.
(17) After having left the Kauravas he achieved upon his departure from Hastinâpura the piety of the Supreme Lord the moment he
sought the salvation of pilgrimages. All he wanted was the highest
grade of devotion as was established by means of all those thousands of
idols. (18) He
traveled to holy places of devotion where the air, the hills and the
orchards, waters, rivers and lakes are pure with temples decorated with
the appearances of the One Unlimited. Thus he proceeded alone through
the holy lands. (19) Traversing
the
earth
purely
and
independently,
he
was
sanctified
by
the
ground
he
slept
upon and
without
his familiar clothes being dressed
like
a
mendicant
and
performing
according
to
the
vows
to
please
the
Lord, one
could not recognize him. (20)
Traveling this way through India only, he arrived at the holy land of
Prabhâsa, which at the time was under the reign of King
Yudhishthhira who by the mercy of the Invincible Lord ruled the world
under one military force and flag [see
1.13]. (21)
There he heard how all his
kinsmen had perished [at Kurukshetra] in a violent passion like a
bamboo
forest burning down because of ignition through its own friction.
Thereupon he, silent with his thoughts, went westward heading for
the river
Sarasvatî. (22) On
the bank of the river
he visited and duly worshiped the holy places called Trita, Us'anâ, Manu,
Prithu, Agni, Asita, Vâyu, Sudâsa, Go, Guha and
S'râddhadeva. (23) Also other places had been established there
by
the twice-born godly ones and the devotees of the various forms
of Lord Vishnu, who, as the leading personality marked each and every
part of the
temples. Even at a distance they reminded one of Lord
Krishna. (24) From
there
passing
through
the
wealthy
kingdoms
of
Surat,
Sauvîra
and
Kurujângala
(west
of
India), he after some time
reaching the Yamunâ river, also happened to meet Uddhava, the
Supreme
Lord His greatest devotee [see Canto 11].
(25) He embraced the sober and gentle constant
companion of Vâsudeva who was formerly a student of Brihaspati,
the master of all ritual, and with great love and affection he
questioned him about the family of the Supreme Lord: (26) 'Are the original personalities of Godhead
[Krishna and Balarâma], who, on the request of the Creator who
was born from the lotus, descended in the world for the elevation and
well-being of everyone, all well in the house of S'ûrasena [the
father of Queen Kuntî, aunt Prithâ]? (27) And, oh Uddhava, is our greatest Kuru and
brother-in-law, Vasudeva [the father of Lord Krishna] happy who is
truly like a father to his sisters and so generous in providing to the pleasure of his
wives everything they desire? (28)
Please Uddhava, tell me
whether the military
commander-in-chief of the Yadus, Pradyumna, is all happy. He was in his
previous life the god of love and is now the great hero
who was born from Rukminî as the prince of the Supreme Lord after she had pleased the brahmins. (29)
And is
Ugrasena the king of the Sâtvatas, Vrishnis,
Dâs'ârhas and Bhojas
doing well? He
is
the
one
to
whom
Lord
Krishna
restored
the
hope
of
the
throne after he had to
give it up being put aside [under the rule of uncle Kamsa]. (30) Oh grave one, is the son of the Lord,
Sâmba, faring well, he, the foremost and best behaved among the
warriors, who is so much alike Him and to whom Jâmbavatî
[another wife of
Krishna] who is so rich in her vows gave birth after his previous life
as
the godly Kârttikeya who was born unto the wife of S'iva? (31) And how is Yuyudhâna
[Sâtyaki] faring, he who learned from Arjuna and fulfilled his
purpose as someone
understanding the intricacies of military art and on top of that in
being of
service attained the destination of the Transcendence that even for
the greatest renouncers is so difficult to achieve? (32)
And the scholarly impeccable
son of S'vaphalka, Akrûra, how is
he? He is the one who in his surrender on the path of Krishna's lotus
feet
lost his balance and fell down in
the dust showing symptoms of transcendental love. (33)
Is everything
well with the daughter of King Devaka-Bhoja? The way the purpose of
sacrifice originated from the
Vedas and the
mother
of
the
demigods
[Aditi]
gave
birth
to
the
godhead,
she
[Devakî]
gave birth to Lord
Vishnu. (34) And is also
He, the Personality of Godhead Aniruddha
all happy, He who as the
source for the fulfillment of the desires of the devotees traditionally
is considered the birth channel for the Rig-Veda, the creator
of the mind and the transcendental fourth plenary expansion of the
Reality
Principle [of Vishnu-tattva]? (35)
And others like Hridîka,
Cârudeshna,
Gada and the son of Satyabhâmâ, who accept the divinity of their own self as
being the soul, oh humble one, and who follow with an absolute faith,
are they also faring well in passing their
time?
(36) Does Yudhishthhira, ruling with the principles
of
humanity, maintain the respect of religion under the protection of the
arms of Arjuna and the Infallible One? It was he who with the opulence
of his royal
entourage and the service of Arjuna, raised the envy of Duryodhana. (37) And
did the unconquerable
Bhîma, who is like a cobra, vent his long-cherished fury upon
the sinners? The way he with
the wonderful play of his club operated on
the battlefield he could not be defeated. (38) Is Arjuna doing well, he the famous one
among the chariot fighters who with his bow the Gândîva
vanquished so many
enemies? He once satisfied Lord S'iva covering him
with arrows when he presented himself unrecognizable as a
false
hunter. (39) And
are the twin sons of
Prithâ [Nakula and Sahadeva] carefree? They were by their
brothers protected as eyelids covering eyes when they reclaimed their property in the fight with
the enemy like
Garuda [the carrier of Vishnu] did [with the nectar] from the mouth of
Indra. (40) Oh
dear one, is Prithâ
still alive? She dedicated her life to the care for the fatherless
children when she had to live without King Pându who alone as a
commanding
warrior could master the four directions with a second bow only.
(41) Oh gentle one, I just pity him
[Dhritarâshthra] who falling down when his brother
[Pându] died, turned against me and drove me, his well-wisher,
out of my
own city adopting the same line of action as his sons. (42) Therefore
I
travel
by the grace of
His feet incognito through this
world of
the Lord which is so bewildering for others to manage. I never missed
to see His feet being doubtless in this matter. (43)
As for the kings who went
astray
because of the three kinds of false pride [about wealth, education and
followers] and who constantly agitated mother earth with the movements
of their troops, He, being the Supreme Lord willing to relieve the
distress of the surrendered souls, of course waited to kill the Kurus despite of
their offenses. (44) The
appearance of the Unborn
One, He without any obligation in the world, is there to put an
end to the upstarts so that each may understand. What other purpose
would He serve in taking up a body and all kinds of karma? (45)
Oh my friend,
sing the glories and discuss the topics of the Lord of all sacred
places who from His unborn position took birth in the family of the
Yadus for the sake of all rulers of the universe who surrendered to Him
and [the devotional culture of ] His self-control.'
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