SECTION XLII
"Vaisampayana said, 'Having heard those words, suitable to time and
place, of his subjects, king Yudhishthira answered them in the following
words, 'Great must be the sons of Pandu, in sooth, whose merits, true or
false, are thus recited by such foremost of Brahmanas assembled together.
Without doubt, we are all objects of favour with you since you so freely
describe us to be possessed of such attributes. King Dhritarashtra,
however, is our father and god. If ye desire to do what is agreeable to
me, always render your obedience to him and what is agreeable to him.
Having slaughtered all my kinsmen, I live for him alone. My great duty is
to always serve him in every respect with watchfulness. If ye, as also my
friends, think that I should be an object of favour with you and them,
let me then request you all to show the same behaviour towards
Dhritarashtra as ye used to show before. He is the lord of the world, of
yourselves, and of myself. The whole world, with the Pandavas, belongs to
him. Ye should always bear these words of mine in your minds.' The king
then told them to go whithersoever they liked. Having dismissed the
citizens and the people of the provinces, the delighter of the Kurus
appointed his brother Bhimasena as Yuvaraja. And he cheerfully appointed
Vidura of great intelligence for assisting him with his deliberations and
for overlooking the sixfold requirements of the state.[125] And he
appointed Sanjaya of mature years and possessed of every accomplishment,
as general director and supervisor of the finances. And the king
appointed Nakula for keeping the register of the forces, for giving them
food and pay and for supervising other affairs of the army. And king
Yudhishthira appointed Phalguna for resisting hostile forces and
chastising the wicked. And he appointed Dhaumya, the foremost of priests,
to attend daily to the Brahmanas and all rites in honour of the gods and
other acts of a religious kind. And he appointed Sahadeva to always
remain by his side, for the king thought, O monarch, that he should under
all circumstances be protected by that brother of his. And the king
cheerfully employed others in other acts according as he deemed them fit.
That slayer of hostile heroes, viz., the righteous-souled king
Yudhishthira, ever devoted to virtue, commanded Vidura and the
high-souled Yuyutsu, saying, 'You should always with alacrity and
attention do everything that my royal father Dhritarashthra wishes.
Whatever also should be done in respect of the citizens and the residents
of the provinces should be accomplished by you in your respective
departments, after taking the king's permission.'"
