Chapter 6
“Vaisampayana said, ‘O king, after Vidura had gone to the abode of thePandavas, Dhritarashtra, O Bharata, of profound wisdom, repented of hisaction. And thinking of the great intelligence of Vidura in mattersconnected with both war and peace, and also of the aggrandisement of thePandavas in the future, Dhritarashtra, pained at the recollection ofVidura, having approached the door of the hall of state fell downsenseless in the presence of the monarchs (in waiting) And regainingconsciousness, the king rose from the ground and thus addressed Sanjayastanding by, ‘My brother and friend is even like the god of justicehimself! Recollecting him today, my heart burneth in grief! Go, bringunto me without delay my brother well-versed in morality!’ Saying this,the monarch wept bitterly. And burning in repentance, and overwhelmedwith sorrow at the recollection of Vidura, the king, from brotherlyaffection, again addressed Sanjaya saying, ‘O Sanjaya, go thou andascertain whether my brother, expelled by my wretched self through anger,liveth still! That wise brother of mine of immeasurable intelligence hathnever been guilty of even the slightest transgression, but, on the otherhand, he it is who hath come by grievous wrong at my hands! Seek him, Owise one, and bring him hither; else, O Sanjaya, I will lay down my life!”
“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Hearing these words of the king, Sanjayaexpressed his approbation, and saying ‘So be it,’ went in the directionof the Kamyaka woods. And arriving without loss of time at the forestwhere the sons of Pandu dwelt, he beheld Yudhishthira clad in deer-skin,seated with Vidura, in the midst of Brahmanas by thousands and guarded byhis brothers, even like Purandara in the midst of the celestials! Andapproaching Yudhishthira, Sanjaya worshipped him duly and was receivedwith due respect by Bhima and Arjuna and the twins. And Yudhishthira madethe usual enquiries about his welfare and when he had been seated at hisease, he disclosed the reason of his visit, in these words, ‘KingDhritarashtra, the son of Amvika, hath, O Kshatta! remembered thee!Returning unto him without loss of time, do thou revive the king! And, Othou best of men, with the permission of these Kuru princes–theseforemost of men–it behoveth thee, at the command of that lion amongkings, to return unto him!
Vaisampayana continued, ‘Thus addressed by Sanjaya, the intelligentVidura, ever attached to his relatives, with the permission ofYudhishthira returned to the city named after the elephant. And after hehad approached the king, Dhritarashtra of great energy, the son ofAmvika, addressed him, saying, ‘From my good luck alone, O Vidura, thou,O sinless one, of conversant with morality, hast come here rememberingme! And, O thou bull of the Bharata race, in thy absence I was beholdingmyself, sleepless through the day and the night, as one that hath beenlost on earth!’ And the king then took Vidura on his lap and smelt hishead, and said, ‘Forgive me, O sinless one, the words in which thou wertaddressed by me!’ And Vidura said, ‘O king, I have forgiven thee. Thouart my superior, worthy of the highest reverence! Here am I, having comeback, eagerly wishing to behold thee! All virtuous men, O tiger amongmen, are (instinctively) partial towards those that are distressed! This,O king, is scarcely the result of deliberation! (My partiality to thePandavas proceedeth from this cause)! O Bharata, thy sons are as dear tome as the sons of Pandu, but as the latter are now in distress, my heartyearneth after them!
“Vaisampayana continued, ‘And addressing each other thus in apologeticspeeches, the two illustrious brothers, Vidura and Dhritarashtra, feltthemselves greatly happy!'”
