SECTION XXIX
(Putradarsana Parva)
"Janamejaya said, 'Tell me. O learned Brahmana, what that wonderful feat
was which the great Rishi Vyasa of high energy accomplished after his
promise to the old king, made when Dhritarashtra, that lord of Earth,
that foremost one of Kuru's race, had taken up his abode in the forest,
with his wife and with his daughter-in-law Kunti; and after, indeed,
Vidura had left his own body and entered into Yudhishthira, and at the
time when all the sons of Pandu were staying in the ascetic retreat. For
how many days did the Kuru king Yudhishthira of unfading glory stay, with
his men, in the woods? On what food, O puissant one, did the high-souled
Pandavas support themselves, with their men, and wives, while they lived
in the woods? O sinless one, do thou tell me this.'
"Vaisampayana said, 'With the permission of the Kuru king, the Pandavas,
O monarch, with their troops and the ladies of their household, supported
themselves on diverse kinds of food and drink and passed about a month in
great happiness in that forest. Towards the close of that period, O
sinless one, Vyasa came there. While all those princes sat around Vyasa,
engaged in conversation on diverse subjects, other Rishis came to that
spot. They were Narada, and Parvata and Devala of austere penances, and
Viswavasu and Tumvuru, and Chitrasena., O Bharata. Endued with severe
penances, the Kuru king Yudhishthira, with the permission of
Dhritarashtra, worshipped them according to due rites. Having obtained
that worship from Yudhishthira, all of them sat down on sacred seats
(made of Kusa grass), as also on excellent seats made of peacock
feathers. After they had all taken their seats, the Kuru king of high
intelligence took his seat there, surrounded by the sons of Pandu.
Gandhari and Kunti and Draupadi, and she of the Sattwata race, and other
ladies of the royal household also sat down. The conversation that then
arose was excellent and had reference to topics connected with piety, and
the Rishis of old, and the deities and the Asuras. At the close of that
conversation Vyasa of great energy, that foremost of eloquent men, that
first of all persons conversant with the Vedas, highly gratified,
addressed the blind monarch and once more said,--'Burning as thou art
with grief on account of thy children, I know, O king of kings, what
object is cherished by thee in thy heart. The sorrow that always exists
in the heart of Gandhari, that which exists in the heart of Kunti, and
that also which is cherished by Draupadi in her heart, and that burning
grief, on account of the death of her son, which Krishna's sister
Subhadra also cherishes, are all known to me. Hearing of this meeting, O
king, of thine with all these princes and princesses of thy house, I have
come here, O delighter of the Kauravas, for dispelling thy doubts. Let
the deities and Gandharvas, and all these great Rishis, behold today the
energy of those penances which I have acquired for these long years.
Therefore, O king, tell me what wish of thine I shall grant today. I am
puissant enough to grant thee a boon. Behold the fruit of my penances.'
Thus addressed by Vyasa of immeasurable understanding, king Dhritarashtra
reflected for a moment and then prepared to speak. He said,--'I am
exceedingly fortunate. Lucky am I in obtaining thy favour. My life is
crowned with success today,--since this meeting has happened between me
and ye all of great piety. Today I shall attain to that highly happy goal
which is reserved for me, since, ye ascetics endued with wealth of
penances, ye who are equal to Brahma himself, I have succeeded in
obtaining this meeting with you all. There is not the least doubt that
this sight that I have obtained of you all has cleansed me of every sin.
Ye sinless ones, I have no longer any fear in respect of my end in the
next world. Full as I am of love for my children, I always cherish their
remembrance. My mind, however, is always tortured by the recollection of
the diverse acts of wrong which my wicked son of exceedingly evil
understanding perpetrated. Possessed of a sinful understanding, he always
persecuted the innocent Pandavas. Alas, the whole Earth has been
devastated by him, with her steeds, elephants and men. Many high-souled
kings, rulers of diverse realms, came for siding my son and succumbed to
death. Alas, leaving their beloved sires and wives and their very
life-breaths, all those heroes have become guests of the king of the
dead. What end, O regenerate one, has been attained by those men who have
been slain, for the sake of their friend, in battle? What end also has
been attained by my sons and grandsons who have fallen in the fray? My
heart is always pained at the thought of my having brought about the
slaughter of the mighty Bhishma, the son of Santanu, and of Drona, that
foremost of Brahmanas, through my foolish and sinful son who was an
injurer of his friends. Desirous of obtaining the sovereignty of the
Earth, he caused the Kuru race, blazing with prosperity, to be
annihilated. Reflecting on all this, I burn day and night with grief.
Deeply afflicted with pain and grief, I am unable to obtain peace of
mind. Indeed, O father, thinking of all this, I have no peace of mind.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these lamentations expressed in diverse
ways, of that royal sage, the grief, O Janamejaya, of Gandhari, became
fresh. The grief also of Kunti, of the daughter of Drupada, of Subhadra,
and of the other members, male and female, and the daughters-in-law, of
the Kuru race, became equally green. Queen Gandhari, with bandaged eyes,
joining her hands, addressed her father-in-law. Deeply afflicted with
grief on account of the slaughter of her sons, she said,--'O foremost of
ascetics, sixteen years have passed over the head of this king grieving
for the death of his sons and divested of peace of mind. Afflicted with
grief on account of the slaughter of his children, this king
Dhritarashtra, always breathes heavily, and never sleeps at night. O
great Rishi, through the power of thy penances thou art competent to
create new worlds. What need I say then about showing this king his
children who are now in the other world? This Krishna, the daughter of
Drupada, hath lost all her kinsmen and children. For this, she who is the
dearest of my daughters-in-law grieves exceedingly. The sister of
Krishna, viz., Subhadra of sweet speech, burning with the loss of her
son, grieves as deeply. This lady that is respected by all, that is the
wife of Bhurisravas, afflicted with grief on account of the fate that has
overtaken her husband, always indulges in heart-rending lamentations. Her
father-in-law was the intelligent Valhika of Kuru's race. Alas, Somadatta
also was slain, along with his sire, in the great battle![47] Alas, a
century of sons, heroes that never retreated from battle, belonging to
this son of thine, this king of great intelligence and great prosperity,
has been slain in battle. The hundred wives of those sons are all
grieving and repeatedly enhancing the grief of both the king and myself.
O great ascetic, stricken by that great slaughter, they have gathered
round me. Alas, those high-souled heroes, those great car warriors, my
fathers-in-law, Somadatta and others,--alas, what end has been theirs, O
puissant one? Through thy grace, O holy one, that will happen in
consequence of which this lord of Earth, myself, and this daughter-in-law
of thine, viz., Kunti, shall all become freed from our grief. After
Gandhari had said so, Kunti, whose face had become wasted through
observance of many hard vows, began to think of her secret-born son
endued with solar effulgence. The boon giving Rishi Vyasa, capable of
both beholding and hearing what happened at a remote distance, saw that
the royal mother of Arjuna was afflicted with grief. Unto her Vyasa
said,--'Tell me, O blessed one, what is in thy mind. Tell me what thou
wishest to say. At this, Kunti, bending her head unto her father-in-law,
and overcome with bashfulness, said these words unto him, relating to the
occurrences of the past.'"
