SECTION LXXVII
Vaisampayana said,--'Then when Draupadi was about to set out she went
unto the illustrious Pritha and solicited her leave. And she also asked
leave of the other ladies of the household who had all been plunged into
grief. And saluting and embracing every one of them as each deserved, she
desired to go away. Then there arose within the inner apartments of the
Pandavas a loud wail of woe. And Kunti, terribly afflicted upon beholding
Draupadi on the eve of her journey, uttered these words in a voice choked
with grief,--
'O child, grieve not that this great calamity hath overtaken thee. Thou
art well conversant with the duties of the female sex, and your behaviour
and conduct also are as they should be. It behoveth me not, O you of
sweet smiles, to instruct you as to your duties towards your lords. Thou
art chaste and accomplished, and your qualities have adorned the race of
thy birth as also the race into which you hast been admitted by
marriage. Fortunate are the Kauravas that they have not been burnt by thy
wrath. O child, safely go you blest by my prayers. Good women never
suffer their hearts to the unstung at what is inevitable. Protected by
virtue that is superior to everything, soon shalt you obtain good
fortune. While living in the woods, keep your eye on my child Sahadeva.
See that his heart sinketh not under this great calamity.'
"Saying 'So be it!' the princess Draupadi bathed in tears, and clad in
one piece of cloth, stained with blood, and with hair dishevelled left
her mother-in-law. And as she went away weeping and wailing Pritha
herself in grief followed her. She had not gone far when she saw her sons
shorn of their ornaments and robes, their bodies clad in deerskins, and
their heads down with shame. And she beheld them surrounded by rejoicing
foes' and pitied by friends. Endued with excess of parental affection,
Kunti approached her sons in that state, and embracing them all, and in
accents choked by woe, She said these words,--
"Ye are virtuous and good-mannered, and adorned with all excellent
qualities and respectful behaviour. Ye are all high-minded, and engaged
in the service of your superiors. And the are also devoted to the gods and
the performance of sacrifices. Why, then, hath this calamity overtaken
you. Whence is this reverse of fortune? I do not see by whose wickedness
this sin hath overtaken you. Alas I have brought you forth. All this must
be due to my ill fortune. It is for this that the have been overtaken by
this calamity, though the all are endued with excellent virtues. In energy
and prowess and strength and firmness and might, the are not wanting. How
shall the now, losing your wealth and possessions, live poor in the
pathless woods? If I had known before that the were destined to live in
the woods, I would not have on Pandit's death come from the mountains of
Satasringa to Hastinapore. Fortunate was your father, as I now regard,
for he truly reaped the fruit of his asceticism, and he was gifted with
foresight, as he entertained the wish of ascending heaven, without having
to feel any pain on account of his sons. Fortunate also was the virtuous
Madri, as I regard her today, who had, it seems, a fore-knowledge of what
would happen and who on that account, obtained the high path of
emancipation and every blessing therewith. All, Madri looked upon me as
her stay, and her mind and her affections were ever fixed on me. Oh, fie
on my desire of life, owing to which suffer all this woe. Ye children, ye
are all excellent and dear unto me. I have obtained you alter much
suffering. I cannot leave you. Even I will go with you. Alas, O Krishna,
(Draupadi), why dost you leave me so? Everything endued with life is
sure to perish. Hath Dhata (Brahma) himself forgotten to ordain my death?
Perhaps, it is so, and, therefore, life doth not quit me. O Krishna, O
thou who dwellest in Dwaraka, O younger brother of Sankarshana, where art
thou? Why dost you not deliver me and these best of men also from such
woe? They say that you who are without beginning and without end
deliverest those that think of thee. Why doth this saying become untrue.
These my sons are ever attached to virtue and nobility and good fame and
prowess. They deserve not to suffer affliction. Oh, show them mercy.
Alas, when there are such elders amongst our race as Bhishma and Drona
and Kripa, all conversant with morality and the science of worldly
concerns, how could such calamity at all come? O Pandu, O king, where art
thou? Why sufferest you quietly your good children to be thus sent into
exile, defeated at dice? O Sahadeva, desist from going. Thou are my
dearest child, dearer, O son of Madri, than my body itself. Forsake me
not. It behoveth you to have some kindness for me. Bound by the ties of
virtue, let these your brothers go. But then, earn you that virtue which
springeth from waiting upon me.'"
Vaisampayana continued,--"The Pandavas then consoled their weeping mother
and with hearts plunged in grief set out for the woods. And Vidura
himself also much afflicted, consoling the distressed Kunti with reasons,
and led her slowly to his house. And the ladies of Dhritarashtra's house,
hearing everything as it happened, viz., the exile (of the Pandavas) and
the dragging of Krishna into the assembly where the princes had gambled,
loudly wept censuring the Kauravas. And the ladies of the royal household
also sat silent for a long time, covering their lotus-like faces with
their fair hands. And king Dhritarashtra also thinking of the dangers
that threatened his sons, became a prey to anxiety and could not enjoy
peace of mind. And anxiously meditating on everything, and with mind
deprived of its equanimity through grief, he sent a messenger unto
Vidura, saying, 'Let Kshatta come to me without a moment's delay.'
"At this summons, Vidura quickly came to Dhritarashtra's palace. And as
soon as he came, the monarch asked him with great anxiety how the
Pandavas had left Hastinapore."
--------------------END OF PARVA 2 : UPA-PARVA 77 ---------------------
