SECTION 8
Vaishampayana said, "Even after hearing the words of Vidura, the chief of
the Kurus, afflicted with grief on account of the death of his sons, fell
down senseless on the Earth. Beholding him fall down in that state, his
friends, as also the island-born Vyasa, and Vidura, and Sanjaya, and
other well-wishers, and the attendants who used to wait at the gates and
who enjoyed his confidence, sprinkled cool water over his body, and
fanned him with palm leaves, and gently rubbed him with their hands. For
a long while they comforted the king while in that condition. The
monarch, recovering his senses after a long time, wept for a long while,
overwhelmed with grief on account of the death of his sons. He said, Fie
on the state of humanity! Fie on the human body! The woes that are
suffered in this life frequently arise from the very state of humanity.
Alas, O lord, great is the grief, like poison or fire, that one suffers
at the loss of sons, of wealth, of kinsmen, and relatives. That grief
causes the limbs to burn and our wisdom to be destroyed. Overwhelmed with
that grief, a person regards death to be preferable. This calamity that
has overtaken me through ill-luck is even like that. It will not, I see,
end except with life itself. O best of regenerate ones, I shall,
therefore, put an end to my life this very day. Having said these words
unto his high-souled sire, that foremost of all persons conversant with
Brahman, Dhritarashtra, overwhelmed with grief, became stupefied. The
king, O monarch reflecting on his woes, became speechless. Hearing these
words of his, the puissant Vyasa thus spoke unto his son afflicted with
grief on account of the death of his children.
"Vyasa said, O mighty-armed Dhritarashtra, listen to what I say. Thou art
possessed of learning, thou hast great intelligence, and thou, O puissant
one, art skilled in understanding duties. Nothing of that which should be
known is unknown to thee, O scorcher of foes! Without doubt, thou knowest
the instability of all things doomed to death. When the world of life is
unstable when this world itself is not eternal, when life is sure to end
in death, why then, O Bharata, dost thou grieve? Before thy very eyes, O
king, the concatenation of facts brought about by Time making thy son the
cause, produced this hostility. This destruction of the Kurus, O king,
was inevitable. Why then dost thou grieve for those heroes that have
attained to the highest end? O thou of mighty arms, the high-souled
Vidura knew everything. With all his might he had endeavoured, O king, to
bring about peace. It is my opinion that the course marked out by Destiny
cannot be controlled by anyone, even if one struggles for eternity. The
course that was settled by the gods was heard directly by me. I will
recite it to thee, so that tranquillity of mind may be thine. Once
before, without any fatigue, I repaired very quickly to the court of
Indra. There I beheld all the denizens of heaven assembled together.
There were, O sinless one, all the celestial rishis also, headed by
Narada. There, O monarch, I saw also the Earth (in her embodied form).
The latter had repaired to the gods for the accomplishment of a
particular mission. Approaching the gods, she said, "That which ye all
should do for me hath, ye blessed ones, been already promised by you
while you were in Brahmas abode. Let that be accomplished soon." Hearing
these words of hers, Vishnu, the adored of all the worlds, smilingly
addressed her in the midst of the celestial conclave, saying, "The eldest
of the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, who is known by the name of
Duryodhana, will accomplish thy business. Through that king, thy purpose
will be achieved. For his sake, many kings will assemble together on the
field of Kuru. Capable of smiting, they will cause one another to be
slain through the instrumentality of hard weapons. It is evident, O
goddess, that thy burthen will then be lightened in battle. Go quickly to
thy own place and continue to bear the weight of creatures, O beauteous
one!" From this thou wilt understand, O king, that thy son Duryodhana,
born in Gandharis womb, was a portion of Kali, sprung for the object of
causing a universal slaughter. He was vindictive, restless, wrathful, and
difficult of being gratified. Through the influence of Destiny his
brothers also became like him. Shakuni became his maternal uncle and
Karna his great friend. Many other kings were born on earth for aiding in
the work of destruction. As the king is, so do his subjects become. If
the king becomes righteous, even unrighteousness (in his dominions)
assumes the shape of righteousness. Servants, without doubt, are affected
by the merits and defects of their masters. Those sons of thine, O king,
having obtained a bad king, have all been destroyed. Conversant with
truth, Narada, knew all this. Thy sons, through their own faults, have
been destroyed, O king! Do not grieve for them, O monarch! There is no
cause for grief. The Pandavas have not, O Bharata, the least fault in
what has happened. Thy sons were all of wicked souls. It is they that
caused this destruction on earth. Blessed be thou; Narada had truly
informed Yudhishthira of all this in his court on the occasion of the
rajasuya sacrifice, saying, "The Pandavas and the Kauravas, encountering
each other, will meet with destruction. Do that, O son of Kunti, which
thou shouldst!" Upon these words of Narada, the Pandavas became filled
with grief. I have thus told thee that which is an eternal secret of the
gods. This will destroy thy grief and restore to thee a love of thy
life-breath, and cause thee to cherish affection for the Pandavas, for
all that has happened has been due to what had been ordained by the gods.
O thou of mighty arms, I had learnt all this sometime before. I also
spoke of it to king Yudhishthira the just on the occasion of his foremost
of sacrifices, the rajasuya. When I secretly informed him of all this,
Dharmas son endeavoured his best for preserving peace with the Kauravas.
That, however, which is ordained by the gods proved too powerful (to be
frustrated by him). The fiat, O king of the Destroyer, is incapable of
being baffled anyhow by mobile and immobile creatures. Thou art devoted
to virtue and possessed of superior intelligence, O Bharata! Thou knowest
also that which is the way and that which is not the way of all
creatures. If king Yudhishthira learns that thou art burning with grief
and losing thy senses frequently, he will cast off his very life-breath.
He is always compassionate and possessed of wisdom. His kindness extends
even to all the inferior creatures. How is it possible, O king, that he
will not show compassion to thee, O monarch? At my command, and knowing
that what is ordained is inevitable, as also from kindness to the
Pandavas, continue to bear thy life, O Bharata! If thou livest thus, thy
fame will spread in the world. Thou shalt then be able to acquire a
knowledge of all duties and find many years for obtaining ascetic merit.
This grief for the death of thy sons that has arisen in thy heart, like a
blazing fire, should always be extinguished, O king, by the water of
wisdom!""
Vaishampayana continued, "Hearing these words of Vyasa of immeasurable
energy and reflecting upon them for a little while, Dhritarashtra said, O
best of regenerate ones, I am exceedingly afflicted by a heavy load of
grief. My senses are repeatedly forsaking me and I am unable to bear up
my own self. Hearing, however, these words of thine about what had been
ordained by the gods, I shall not think of casting off my life-breath and
shall live and act without indulging in grief! Hearing these words of
Dhritarashtra, O monarch, Satyavatis son, Vyasa, disappeared then and
there."
