Upa-Parva:
(89) Ashvamedha---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION I (Aswamedhika Parva)
ॐ Having bowed down unto Narayana, and Nara the foremost of male
beings, and unto the goddess Saraswati, must the word Jaya be uttered.
"Vaisampayana said, "After the king Dhritarashtra had offered libations
of water (unto the manes of Bhisma), the mighty-armed[1] Yudhishthira,
with his senses bewildered, placing the former in his front, ascended the
banks (of the river), his eyes suffused with tears, and dropt down on the
bank of the Ganga like an elephant pierced by the hunter. Then incited by
Krishna, Bhima took him up sinking. 'This must not be so,' said Krishna,
the grinder of hostile hosts. The Pandavas, O king, saw Yudhishthira, the
son of Dharma, troubled and lying on the ground, and also sighing again
and again. And seeing the king despondent and feeble, the Pandavas,
overwhelmed with grief, sat down, surrounding him. And endowed with high
intelligence and having the sight of wisdom, king Dhritarashtra,
exceedingly afflicted with grief for his sons, addressed the monarch,
saying,--'Rise up, O thou tiger among the Kurus. Do thou now attend to
thy duties. O Kunti's son, thou hast conquered this Earth according to
the usage of the Kshatriyas. Do thou now, O lord of men, enjoy her with
thy brothers and friends. O foremost of the righteous, I do not see why
thou shouldst grieve. O lord of the Earth, having lost a hundred sons
like unto riches obtained in a dream, it is Gandhari and I, who should
mourn. Not having listened to the pregnant words of the high-souled
Vidura, who sought our welfare, I, of perverse senses, (now) repent. The
virtuous Vidura, endowed with divine insight, had told me,--'Thy race
will meet with annihilation owing to the transgressions of Duryodhana. O
king, if thou wish for the weal of thy line, act up to my advice. Cast
off this wicked-minded monarch, Suyodhana, and let not either Karna or
Sakuni by any means see him. Their gambling too do thou, without making
any fuss suppress, and anoint the righteous king Yudhishthira. That one
of subdued senses will righteously govern the Earth. If thou wouldst not
have king Yudhishthira, son of Kunti, then, O monarch, do thou,
performing a sacrifice, thyself take charge of the kingdom, and regarding
all creatures with an even eye, O lord of men, do thou let thy kinsmen. O
thou advancer of thy kindred, subsist on thy bounty.' When, O Kunti's
son, the far-sighted Vidura said this, fool that I was I followed the
wicked Duryodhana. Having turned a deaf ear to the sweet speech of that
sedate one, I have obtained this mighty sorrow as a consequence, and have
been plunged in an ocean of woe. Behold thy old father and mother, O
king, plunged in misery. But, O master of men, I find no occasion for thy
grief.'"
