|
Mahābhārata The History of the Great India
<< 36 The Fire At Varanavata >>
 |  | Knowing of Duryodhana's evil plans, Vidura, the uncle of the Pandavas, warns them of the danger ahead. The sage Vaisampayana is telling the history of the Pandavas to their great-grandson, King Janamejaya. As the Mahabharata continues, the Pandavas leave Hastinapura, their capital, for the charming city of Varanavata—and a trap set by Duryodhana.
| | | The Pandavas yoked their chariots with purebred horses that ran like the wind. As the Pandavas were about to mount for the journey, they felt sad to leave their family and friends. The Pandavas respectfully embraced the lotus feet of Bhisma, King Dhrtarastra, the great soul Drona, and other venerable elders like Vidura and Krpacarya. Thus the Pandavas offered heartfelt respect to all the senior Kurus, embraced peers, and accepted respectful greetings from the younger generation. Having begged permission to leave from all the elder ladies, whom the Pandavas regarded as their mothers, and having circumambulated the especially venerable ones, the Pandavas and all their ministers departed for Varanavata. The very wise Vidura and other Kuru leaders and citizens, their hearts pulled by the sorrow of separation, followed as the Pandavas, those tigers of men, departed.
| | | Then, O noble Bharata, some brahmanas there, grieving terribly for the sons of Pandu, fearlessly began to speak out:
| | | "King Dhrtarastra is completely covered by darkness, and he sees with unfair partiality. So bad is his intelligence that he cannot see the laws of God. Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, is a sinless man who will never approve a sinful act, nor will Bhima, best of the strong, nor the son of Kunti, Arjuna. And Nakula and Sahadeva, the two sons of Madri, are mature and great in wisdom and would never do evil. These men rightfully received the kingdom from their father, and Dhrtarastra cannot tolerate that. But why does Bhisma allow all this injustice—that the best of the Bharatas, the sons of Kunti, be improperly driven from their home?
| | | "In the old days, the saintly king Vicitravirya, son of Santanu, was just like a father to us, and so was Pandu, the beloved of the Kurus. But now that King Pandu, a saintly tiger of a man, has gone to his blessed fate, Dhrtarastra will not tolerate the king's own sons, who are still like children. But we shall not tolerate this crime. Every one of us shall give up our home and leave this fine city to go with Yudhisthira".
| | | When the shrewd and grief-stricken brahmanas had spoken thus, Yudhisthira, the king of virtue, was extremely pleased. He said to the brahmanas and the other citizens, "We have accepted the king as our father, as our best teacher. Therefore we have sworn to do without hesitation whatever he tells us. All of you are our well-wishing friends, so kindly circumambulate us and gladden us with your heartfelt blessings. Then please return to your homes. When the time comes that we need your help, you will surely act for our happiness and welfare".
| | | "So be it," said the people, swearing their loyalty to Yudhisthira. Then, after circumambulating the princes and gladdening them with heartfelt blessings, the people went back to the city.
|
|
| |
|---|
English
Español
Pусский
Português