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Mahābhārata The History of the Great India
<< 93 Wise Advice from the Kuru Elders >>
 |  | Bhisma, Drona and Vidura advise Dhrtarastra to make peace with the Pandavas. The sage Vaisampayana is telling the history of the Pandavas to their great-grandson, King Janamejaya. As the narration continues, King Dhrtarastra has just heard the advice of his son Duryodhana, who suggested defeating the Pandavas with trickery, and of Karna, who wants to fight the Pandavas. Now he asks the elders of the Kuru family for their opinions.
| | | After Hearing The Words of Karna, the powerful Dhrtarastra thanked him. After a moment he said, "O son of a charioteer, it is fitting that you, being a great-minded man and a master of weapons, have spoken such words, full of the vigor of combat. But it is best that Bhisma, Drona, and Vidura, along with you two men, together decide the wisest plan, the one that will bring us a happy ending."
| | | Then the famous Dhrtarastra brought all these advisers, O king, and they began to deliberate.
| | | Bhisma said: "Under no circumstances can I condone a war with the sons of Pandu, for as much as I care about Dhrtarastra, that much I care for Pandu and his family, without a doubt. I have the same feelings for Kunti's sons as for Gandhari's, and it is my duty to protect the Pandavas—as much as it is your duty, Dhrtarastra. As I am responsible for the well-being of the Pandavas, so is King Dhrtarastra, and so are you, Duryodhana, and all the other Kurus. Indeed, all the citizens should be concerned to help and care for them.
| | | "This being the case, I find no pleasure in making war with them. Let us rather make peace with those heroes, and let us give them their land at once, for this kingdom is theirs to rule; it is the kingdom of their father and their forefathers, the greatest of the Kurus.
| | | "Duryodhana, my son, just as you see this kingdom as the land of your forefathers, so do the Pandavas [as descendants of the same forefathers] see it as the land of their forefathers. If the austere Pandavas have not really inherited the kingdom, then how does it belong to you, or to any descendant? If you have gotten the kingdom fairly, noble Bharata, then in my opinion surely the Pandavas have gotten it before you.
| | | "We must act with kindness and give the Pandavas half the kingdom, for that is certainly in the interest of all the people. If we do otherwise, it will not be for our good, and you will inherit utter infamy without doubt.
| | | "You must guard your reputation, for a good reputation is surely the greatest power. It is said that when a man's reputation is ruined, his life becomes fruitless. If a man's reputation is unspoiled, Kaurava, then he actually lives. But when his reputation is ruined, O son of Gandhari, he is ruined. You must strictly abide by this religious law, for such is the custom of the Kuru family. O mighty-armed one, act in a manner worthy of your ancestors and yourself.
| | | "From the time I heard that Kunti was lost in the fire, Duryodhana, I had not the strength to see the face of a single creature. And the world does not accuse [the arsonist] Purocana* of evildoing as much as it accuses you, O tiger of men. That the Pandavas are still living relieves you of the dark stain of sin. Indeed, to see the Pandavas again is something to be fervently wished.
| | | "Now that those heroes are alive, even Indra himself, thunderbolt in hand, could not take from them their rightful share of their father's kingdom. O Kuru child, every one of them is fixed in the sacred law, for their minds think only of God's will. Now those princes have been thrown out of the kingdom in the most unlawful way, though they have the same right as any of you to rule it. If you are interested in following the religious law, if you wish to please me, and if you would act for the well-being of the world, you must give the Pandavas half of this kingdom."
| | | Incited by Duryodhana, Purocana had set fire to a house in which the Pandavas were living. But the Pandavas had secretly escaped unharmed.
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