Chapter 23

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Having beard these words of king DhritarashtraSanjaya went to Upaplavya to see the Pandavas of immeasurable strength.And having approached king Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, he madeobeisance to him first and then spoke. And the son of Gavalgana, by nameSanjaya and by caste a Suta, cheerfully spoke unto Ajatasatru, ‘Howlucky, O king, that I see you hale, attended by friends and littleinferior to the great Indra. The aged and wise king Dhritarashtra, theson of Ambika, hath enquired about your welfare. I hope Bhimasena iswell, and that Dhananjaya, that foremost of the Pandavas, and these twosons of Madri, are well. I hope princess Krishna also, the daughter ofDrupada, is well,–she who never swerves from the path of truth, thatlady of great energy, that wife of heroes. I hope she is well with hersons,–she in whom are centred all your dearest joys and whose welfareyou constantly pray for.’

“Yudhishthira said, ‘O Sanjaya, the son of Gavalgana, hath thy journeyhere been safe? We are pleased with thy sight. I ask thee in return howthou art. I am, O learned man, in excellent health with my youngerbrothers. O Suta, after a long while do I now receive news of the agedking of the Kurus, that descendant of Bharata. Having seen thee, OSanjaya, I feel as if I have seen the king himself, so pleased I am! Isour aged grandsire Bhishma, the descendant of Kuru, endued with greatenergy and the highest wisdom and always devoted to the practices of hisown order, O sire, in health? I hope he still retains all his formerhabits. I hope the high-souled king Dhritarashtra, the so-n ofVichitravirya, is in health with his sons. I hope the great king Vahlika,the son of Pratipa, endued with great learning, is also in health. Ihope, O sire, that Somadatta is in health, and Bhurisravas, andSatyasandha, and Sala, and Drona with his son, and the Brahmana Kripa arealso well. I hope all those mighty bowmen are free from disease. OSanjaya, all those greatest and best of bowmen, endued with the highestintelligence and versed in letters, and occupying the very top of thosewho wield weapons, have attached themselves to the Kurus. I hope thosebowmen receive their honours due. I hope they are free from disease. Howhappy are they in whose kingdom dwells the mighty and handsome bowman,the well-behaved son of Drona! I hope Yuyutsu, the highly intelligent sonof Dhritarashtra by his Vaisya wife is in health. I hope, O sire, theadviser Karna, whose counsels are followed by the dull-headed Suyodhana,is in health. I hope, the aged ladies, the mothers of the Bharata race,and the kitchen-maidens, the bond-maids, the daughters-in-law, the boys,the sister’s sons, and ‘the sisters, and the daughters’ sons ofDhritarashtra’s house are all free from trouble. O sire, I hope the kingstill allows their former subsistence to the Brahmanas. I hope, OSanjaya, Dhritarashtra’s son hath not seized those gifts to the Brahmanasthat I made. I hope Dhritarashtra with his sons meets in a spirit offorbearance any over-bearing conduct on the part of the Brahmanas. I hopehe never neglects to make provision for them, that being the sole highwayto heaven. For this is the excellent and clear light that hath beenprovided by the Creator in this world of living beings. If likedull-headed persons, the sons of Kuru do not treat the Brahmanas in aforbearing spirit, wholesale destruction will overtake them. I hope kingDhritarashtra and his son try to provide for the functionaries of state.I hope there are no enemies for theirs, who, disguised as friends, areconspiring for their ruin. O sire, I hope none of these Kurus talk of ourhaving committed any crimes. I hope Drona and his son and the heroicKripa do not talk of our having been guilty in any way. I hope all theKurus look up to king Dhritarashtra and his sons as the protectors oftheir tribe. I hope when they see a horde of robbers, they remember thedeeds of Arjuna, the leader in all fields of battle. I hope they rememberthe arrows shot from the Gandiva, which course through the air in astraight path, impelled onwards by the stretched bow-string in contactwith the fingers of his hand, and making a noise loud as that of thethunder. I have not seen the warrior that excels or even rivals Arjunawho can shoot by a single effort of his hand sixty-one whetted andkeen-edged shafts furnished with excellent feathers. Do they rememberBhima also, who, endued with great activity causeth hostile hosts arrayedin battle to tremble in dread, like an elephant with rent templesagitating a forest of reeds? Do they remember the mighty Sahadeva, theson of Madri, who in Dantakura conquered the Kalingas, shooting arrows byboth the left and right hand? Do they remember Nakula, who, O Sanjaya,was sent, under your eye, to conquer the Sivis and the Trigartas, and whobrought the western region under my power? Do they remember the disgracethat was theirs when under evil counsels they came to the woods ofDwaitavana on pretence of taking away their cattle? Those wicked oneshaving been over-powered by their enemies were afterwards liberated byBhimasena and Arjuna, myself protecting the rear of Arjuna (in the fightthat ensued) and Bhima protecting the rear of the sons of Madri, and thewielder of the Gandiva coming out unharmed from the press of battlehaving made a great slaughter of the hostile host,–do they rememberthat? It is not by a single good deed, O Sanjaya, that happiness can herebe attained, when by all our endeavours we are unable to win over the sonof Dhritarashtra!”