Chapter 32

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Dismissed with salutation by the Pandavas, Sanjayaset out for (Hastinapura) having executed all the commands of theillustrious Dhritarashtra. Reaching Hastinapura he quickly entered it,and presented himself at the gate of the inner apartments of the palace.Addressing the porter, he said, ‘O gate-keeper, say unto Dhritarashtrathat I, Sanjaya, have just arrived, coming from the sons of Pandu. Do notdelay. If the king be awake, then only shouldst thou say so, O keeper,for I like to enter having first apprised him of my arrival. In thepresent instance I have something of very great importance tocommunicate.’ Hearing this, the gate-keeper went to the king andaddressed him, saying, ‘O lord of earth, I bow to thee. Sanjaya is at thygates, desirous of seeing thee. He cometh, bearing a message from thePandavas. Issue your commands, O king, as to what he should do.’

“The king said, ‘Tell Sanjaya that I am happy and hale. Let him enter.Welcome to Sanjaya. I am always ready to receive him. Why should he stayoutside whose admission is never forbidden?”

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Then, with the king’s permission, havingentered that spacious apartment, the Suta’s son, with joined hands,approached the royal son of Vichitravirya who was protected by many wise,valiant, and righteous persons, and who was then seated on his throne.And Sanjaya addressed him, saying, ‘I am Sanjaya, O king. I bow untothee. O chief of men, proceeding hence I found the sons of Pandu. Afterhaving paid his salutations to thee, Pandu’s son, the intelligentYudhishthira, enquired of thy welfare. And well-pleased, he alsoenquireth after thy sons, and asketh thee whether thou art happy with thysons and grandsons and friends and counsellors, and, O king, all thosethat depend upon thee.’

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘O child, giving my blessings to Ajatasatru, I askthee, O Sanjaya, whether that king of the Kauravas, Pritha’s son, is wellwith his sons and brothers and counsellors.’

“Sanjaya said, ‘Pandu’s son is well with his counsellors. He desirespossessions of that which he formerly had as his own. He seeketh virtueand wealth without doing anything that is censurable, possessethintelligence and vast learning, and is, besides, far-sighted and ofexcellent disposition. With that son of Pandu, abstention from injury iseven superior to virtue, and virtue superior to the accumulation ofwealth. His mind, O Bharata, is always inclined to happiness and joy, andto such course of action as are virtuous and conducive to the higher endsof life. Even like doll pulled this way and that by threads, man (in thisworld) moveth, swayed by a force not his own. Beholding the sufferings ofYudhishthira, I regard the force of destiny to be Superior to the effectof human exertion. Beholding again thy unworthy deeds, which, besides,being highly sinful and unspeakable, are sure to terminate in misery, itseemeth to me that one of thy nature winneth praise only so long as hisable foe bideth his time. Renouncing all sin, even as a serpent castethoff its worn out slough which it cannot any longer retain, the heroicAjatasatru shineth in his natural perfection, leaving his load of sins tobe borne by thee. Consider, O king, thy own acts which are contrary toboth religion and profit, and to the behaviour of those that arerighteous. Thou hast, O king, earned a bad repute in this world, and wiltreap misery in the next. Obeying the counsels of thy son thou hopest toenjoy this doubtful property, keeping them aloof. This unrighteous deedis loudly bruited about in the world, Therefore, O foremost of theBharatas, this deed is unworthy of thee. Calamity overtaketh him who isdeficient in wisdom, or who is of low birth, or who is cruel, or whocherisheth hostility for a long time, or who is not steady in Kshatriyavirtues, or is devoid of energy, or is of a bad disposition, in fact, himwho hath such marks. It is by virtue of luck that a person taketh hisbirth in good race, or becometh strong, or famous, or versed in variouslore, or possesseth the comforts of life, or becometh capable of subduinghis senses, or discriminating virtue and vice that are always linkedtogether. What person is there, who, attended upon by foremost ofcounsellors, possessed of intelligence, capable of discriminating betweenvirtue and vice in times of distress, not destitute of the rituals ofreligion, and retaining the use of all his faculties, would commit crueldeeds. These counsellors, ever devoted to thy work, wait here unitedtogether. Even this is their firm determination (viz., that the Pandavasare not to get back their share). The destruction of the Kurus,therefore, is certain to be brought about by the force of circumstances.If, provoked by the offences, Yudhishthira wisheth for misery to thee,then Kurus will be destroyed prematurely, while, imparting all his sinsto thee, the blame of that deed will be thine in this world. Indeed, whatelse is there save the will of the Gods, for Arjuna, the son of Pritha,leaving this world ascended to the very heavens and was honoured therevery greatly. This proves that individual exertion is nothing. There is,no doubt, as to this. Seeing that the attributes of high birth, bravery,etc., depended for their development or otherwise on acts, and beholdingalso prosperity and adversity and stability and instability (in personsand their possessions), king Vali, in his search after causes, havingfailed to discover a beginning (in the chain of acts of former lives onebefore another), regarded the eternal Essence to be the cause ofeverything. The eye, the ear, the nose, the touch, and the tongue, theseare the doors of a person’s knowledge. If desire be curbed, these wouldbe gratified by themselves. Therefore, cheerfully and without repiningone should control the senses. Others there are that think differently.They hold that if a person’s acts are well-applied, these must producethe desired result. Thus the child begot by the act of the mother and thefather grows when duly tended with food and drink. Men in this worldbecome subject to love and hate, pleasure and pain, praise and blame. Aman is praised when he behaves honestly. Thee I blame, since thesedissensions of the Bharatas (whose root thou art) will surely bring aboutthe destruction of innumerable lives. If peace be not concluded, thenthrough thy fault Arjuna will consume the Kurus like a blazing fireconsuming a heap of dried grass. O ruler of men, thou alone of all theworld, yielding to thy son whom no restraints can blind, hadst regardedthyself as crowned with success and abstained from avoiding dispute atthe time of the match at dice. Behold now the fruit of that (weakness ofthine)! O monarch, by rejecting advisers that are faithful and acceptingthose that deserve no confidence, this extensive and prosperous empire, Oson of Kuru, thou art unable to retain owing to thy weakness. Wearied bymy fast journey and very much fatigued, I solicit thy permission to go tobed now, O lion of men, for tomorrow morning will the Kurus, assembledtogether in the council-hall, hear the words of Ajatasatru.'”