Chapter 42

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Having heard those words, suitable to time andplace, of his subjects, king Yudhishthira answered them in the followingwords, ‘Great must be the sons of Pandu, in sooth, whose merits, true orfalse, are thus recited by such foremost of Brahmanas assembled together.Without doubt, we are all objects of favour with you since you so freelydescribe us to be possessed of such attributes. King Dhritarashtra,however, is our father and god. If ye desire to do what is agreeable tome, always render your obedience to him and what is agreeable to him.Having slaughtered all my kinsmen, I live for him alone. My great duty isto always serve him in every respect with watchfulness. If ye, as also myfriends, think that I should be an object of favour with you and them,let me then request you all to show the same behaviour towardsDhritarashtra as ye used to show before. He is the lord of the world, ofyourselves, and of myself. The whole world, with the Pandavas, belongs tohim. Ye should always bear these words of mine in your minds.’ The kingthen told them to go whithersoever they liked. Having dismissed thecitizens and the people of the provinces, the delighter of the Kurusappointed his brother Bhimasena as Yuvaraja. And he cheerfully appointedVidura of great intelligence for assisting him with his deliberations andfor overlooking the sixfold requirements of the state.[125] And heappointed Sanjaya of mature years and possessed of every accomplishment,as general director and supervisor of the finances. And the kingappointed Nakula for keeping the register of the forces, for giving themfood and pay and for supervising other affairs of the army. And kingYudhishthira appointed Phalguna for resisting hostile forces andchastising the wicked. And he appointed Dhaumya, the foremost of priests,to attend daily to the Brahmanas and all rites in honour of the gods andother acts of a religious kind. And he appointed Sahadeva to alwaysremain by his side, for the king thought, O monarch, that he should underall circumstances be protected by that brother of his. And the kingcheerfully employed others in other acts according as he deemed them fit.That slayer of hostile heroes, viz., the righteous-souled kingYudhishthira, ever devoted to virtue, commanded Vidura and thehigh-souled Yuyutsu, saying, ‘You should always with alacrity andattention do everything that my royal father Dhritarashthra wishes.Whatever also should be done in respect of the citizens and the residentsof the provinces should be accomplished by you in your respectivedepartments, after taking the king’s permission.'”