Chapter 87

“Vidura said, ‘O monarch, O best of men, thou art respected by threeworlds. Thou, O Bharata, art loved and regarded by every body. Venerablein year as thou art, what thou wilt say at this age cap never be againstthe dictates of the scriptures or the conclusions of well-directedreason, for thy mind is ever calm. Thy subjects, O king, are well-assuredthat, like characters on stone, light in the sun, and billows in theocean, virtue resideth in thee permanently. O monarch, every one ishonoured and made happy in consequence of thy numerous virtues. Strive,therefore, with thy friends and kinsmen to retain those virtues of thine.Oh, adopt sincerity of behaviour. Do not from folly, cause a wholesaledestruction of thy sons, grandsons, friends, kinsmen, and all that aredear to thee. It is much, O king, that thou wishes to give unto Kesava asthy guest. Know, however, that Kesava deserves all this and much more,aye, the whole earth itself. I truly swear by my own soul that thou dostnot wish to give all this unto Krishna either from motives of virtue orfor the object of doing what is agreeable to him. O giver of greatwealth, all this betrays only deception, falsehood, and insincerity. Bythe external acts, O king, I know thy secret purpose. The five Pandavas,O king, desire only five villages. Thou, however, dost not wish to givethem even that. Thou art, therefore, unwilling to make peace. Thouseekest to make the mighty-armed hero of Vrishni’s race thy own by meansof thy wealth; in foot, by this means, thou seekest to separate Kesavafrom the Pandavas. I tell thee, however, that thou art unable, by wealth,or attention, or worship, to separate Krishna from Dhananjaya. I knowmagnanimity of Krishna; I know firm devotion of Arjuna towards him, Iknow that Dhananjaya, who is Kesava’s life, is incapable of being givenup by the latter. Save only a vessel of water, save only the washing ofhis feet, save only the (usual) enquiries after the welfare (of those hewill see), Janardana will not accept any other hospitality or set hiseyes on any other thing. Offer him, however, O king, that hospitalitywhich is the most agreeable to that illustrious one deserving of everyrespect, for there is no respect that may not be offered to Janardana.Give unto Kesava, O king, that object in expectation of which, fromdesire of benefiting both parties, he cometh to the Kurus. Kesava desirespeace to be established between thee and Duryodhana on one side and thePandavas on the other. Follow his counsels, O, monarch. Thou art theirfather, O king, and the Pandavas are thy sons. Thou art old, and they arechildren to thee in years, behave as father towards them, that aredisposed to pay thee filial regard.”