Chapter 207

“Vaisampayana said, ‘After Drona had ceased, Vidura spoke, saying, ‘Omonarch, thy friends without doubt, are saying unto thee what is for thygood. But as thou art unwilling to listen to what they say, their wordsscarcely find a place in thy ears.

What that foremost one of Kuru’s race,viz., Bhishma, the son of Santanu, hath said, is excellent and is for thygood. But thou dost not listen to it. The preceptor Drona also hath saidmuch that is for thy good which however Karna, the son of Radha, doth notregard to be such. But, O king, reflecting hard I do not find any one whois better a friend to thee than either of these two lions among men(viz., Bhishma and Drona), or any one who excels either of them inwisdom. These two, old in years, in wisdom, and in learning, alwaysregard thee, O king, and the sons of Pandu with equal eyes. Withoutdoubt, O king of Bharata’s race, they are both, in virtue andtruthfulness, not inferior to Rama, the son of Dasaratha, and Gaya. Neverbefore did they give thee any evil advice. Thou also, O monarch, hastnever done them any injury. Why should, therefore, these tigers amongmen, who are ever truthful, give thee wicked advice, especially when thouhast never injured them? Endued with wisdom these foremost of men, Oking, will never give thee counsels that are crooked. O scion of Kuru’srate, this is my firm conviction that these two, acquainted with allrules of morality, will never, tempted by wealth, utter anythingbetraying a spirit of partisanship. What they have said, O Bharata, Iregard highly beneficial to thee. Without doubt, O monarch, the Pandavasare thy sons as much as Duryodhana and others are. Those ministers,therefore, that give thee any counsel fraught with evil unto thePandavas, do not really look to thy interests. If there is any partialityin thy heart, O king, for thy own children, they who by their counselseek to bring it out, certainly do thee no good. Therefore, O king, theseillustrious persons endued with great splendour, have not I think, saidanything that leadeth to evil. Thou, however, dost not understand it.What these bulls among men have said regarding the invincibility of thePandavas is perfectly true. Think not otherwise of it, O tiger among men.Blest be thou! Can the handsome Dhananjaya, the son of Pandu, using theright and the left hand with equal activity, be vanquished in battle evenby Maghavat himself? Can the great Bhimasena of strong arms possessingthe might of ten thousand elephants, be vanquished in battle by theimmortals themselves? Who also that desireth to live can overcome inbattle the twins (Nagula and Sahadeva) like unto the sons of Yamahimself, and well-skilled in fight? How too can the eldest one of thePandavas in whom patience, mercy, forgiveness, truth, and prowess alwayslive together, be vanquished? They who have Rama (Valadeva) as theirally, and Janardana (Krishna) as their counsellor, and Satyaki as theirpartisan, have already defeated everybody in war. They who have Drupadafor their father-in-law, and Drupada’s sons–the heroic brothers, viz.,Dhristadyumna and others of Prishata’s race for their brothers-in-law,are certainly invincible. Remembering this, O monarch, and knowing thattheir claim to the kingdom is even prior to thine, behave virtuouslytowards them. The stain of calumny is on thee, O monarch, in consequenceof that act of Purochana. Wash thyself of it now, by a kindly behaviourtowards the Pandavas. This kindly behaviour of thine, O monarch, towardsthe Pandavas will be an act of great benefit to us, protecting the livesof us all that belong to Kuru’s race, and leading to the growth of thewhole Kshatriya order! We had formerly warred with king Drupada; if wecan now secure him as an ally, it will strengthen our party. TheDasarhas, O king, are numerous and strong. Know where Krishna is, all ofthem must be, and where Krishna is, there victory also must be! O king,who, unless cursed by the gods, would seek, to effect that by means ofwar which can be effected by conciliation? Hearing that the sons ofPritha are alive, the citizens and other subjects of the realm havebecome exceedingly glad and eager for beholding them. O monarch, act in away that is agreeable to them. Duryodhana and Karna and Sakuni, the sonof Suvala, are sinful, foolish and young; listen not to them. Possessedof every virtue thou art I long ago told thee, O monarch that forDuryodhana’s fault, the subjects of this kingdom would be exterminated.'”