Chapter 63

Janamejaya said, “For what reason did that tiger among kings,Yudhishthira the just, despatch that scorcher of foes, Vasudeva, untoGandhari? Krishna had at first gone to the Kauravas for the sake ofbringing about peace. He did not obtain the fruition of his wishes. Inconsequence of this the battle took place. When all the warriors wereslain and Duryodhana was struck down, when in consequence of the battlethe empire of Pandu’s son became perfectly foeless, when all the (Kuru)camp became empty, all its inmates having fled, when great renown was wonby the son of Pandu, what, O regenerate one, was the cause for whichKrishna had once again to go to Hastinapura? It seems to me, O Brahmana,that the cause could not be a light one, for it was Janardana ofimmeasurable soul who had himself to make the journey! O foremost of allAdhyaryus, tell me in detail what the cause was for undertaking such amission!”

Vaishampayana said, “The question thou askest me, O king, is, indeed,worthy of thee! I will tell thee everything truly as it occurred, O bullof Bharata’s race! Beholding Duryodhana, the mighty son of Dhritarashtra,struck down by Bhimasena in contravention of the rules of fair fight, infact, beholding the Kuru king slain unfairly, O Bharata, Yudhishthira, Omonarch, became filled with great fear, at the thought of the highlyblessed Gandhari possessed of ascetic merit. “She hath undergone severeascetic austerities and can, therefore, consume the three worlds,” eventhus thought the son of Pandu. By sending Krishna, Gandhari, blazing withwrath, would be comforted before Yudhishthira’s own arrival. “Hearing ofthe death of her son brought to such a plight by ourselves, she will, inwrath, with the fire of her mind, reduce us to ashes! How will Gandhariendure such poignant grief, after she hears her son, who always foughtfairly, slain unfairly by us?” Having reflected in this strain for a longwhile, king Yudhishthira the just, filled with fear and grief, said thesewords unto Vasudeva: “Through thy grace, O Govinda, my kingdom hath beenreft of thorns! That which we could not in imagination even aspire toobtain hath now become ours, O thou of unfading glory! Before my eyes, Omighty-armed one, making the very hair stand on end, violent were theblows that thou hadst to bear, O delighter of the Yadavas! In the battlebetween the gods and the Asuras, thou hadst, in days of old, lent thy aidfor the destruction of the foes of the gods and those foes were slain! Inthe same way, O mighty-armed one, thou hast given us aid, O thou ofunfading glory! By agreeing to act as our charioteer, O thou of Vrishni’srace, thou hast all along protected us! If thou hadst not been theprotector of Phalguna in dreadful battle, how could then this sea oftroops have been capable of being vanquished? Many were the blows of themace, and many were the strokes of spiked bludgeons and darts and sharparrows and lances and battle axes, that have been endured by thee! Forour sake, O Krishna, thou hadst also to hear many harsh words and endurethe fall, violent as the thunder, of weapons in battle! In consequence ofDuryodhana’s slaughter, all this has not been fruitless, O thou ofunfading glory! Act thou again in such a way that the fruit of all thoseacts may not be destroyed! Although victory hath been ours, O Krishna,our heart, however, is yet trembling in doubt! Know, O Madhava, thatGandhari’s wrath, O mighty-armed one, hath been provoked! Thathighly-blessed lady is always emaciating herself with the austerest ofpenances! Hearing of the slaughter of her sons and grandsons, she will,without doubt, consume us to ashes! It is time, O hero, I think, forpacifying her! Except thee, O foremost of men, what other person is therethat is able to even behold that lady of eyes red like copper in wrathand exceedingly afflicted with the ills that have befallen her children?That thou shouldst go there, O Madhava, is what I think to be proper, forpacifying Gandhari, O chastiser of foes, who is blazing with wrath! Thouart the Creator and the Destroyer. Thou art the first cause of all theworlds thyself being eternal! By words fraught with reasons, visible andinvisible that are all the result of time, thou wilt quickly, O thou ofgreat wisdom, be able to pacify Gandhari! Our grandsire, thy holyKrishna-Dvaipayana, will be there. O mighty-armed one, it is thy duty todispel, by all means in thy power, the wrath of Gandhari!” Hearing thesewords of king Yudhishthira the just, the perpetuator of Yadu’s race,summoning Daruka, said, “Let my car be equipped!” Having receivedKeshava’s command, Daruka in great haste, returned and represented untohis high-souled master that the car was ready. That scorcher of foes andchief of Yadu’s race, the lord Keshava, having mounted the car, proceededwith great haste to the city of the Kurus. The adorable Madhava then,riding on his vehicle, proceeded, and arriving at the city called afterthe elephant entered it. Causing the city to resound with the rattle ofhis car-wheels as he entered it, he sent word to Dhritarashtra and thenalighted from his vehicle and entered the palace of the old king. Hethere beheld that best of Rishis, (Dvaipayana) arrived before him.Janardana, embracing the feet of both Vyasa and Dhritarashtra, quietlysaluted Gandhari also. Then the foremost of the Yadavas, Vishnu seizingDhritarashtra by the hand, O monarch, began to weep melodiously. Havingshed tears for a while from sorrow, he washed his eyes and his face withwater according to rules. That chastiser of foes then said these softlyflowing words unto Dhritarashtra, “Nothing is unknown to thee, O Bharata,about the past and the future! Thou art well-acquainted, O lord, with thecourse of time! From a regard for thee, the Pandavas had endeavoured toprevent the destruction of their race and the extermination ofKshatriyas, O Bharata! Having made an understanding with his brothers,the virtuous Yudhishthira had lived peacefully. He even went to exileafter defeat at unfair dice! With his brothers he led a life ofconcealment, attired in various disguises. They also every day got intodiverse other woes as if they were quite helpless! On the eve of battle Imyself came and in the presence of all men begged of thee only fivevillages. Afflicted by Time, and moved by covetousness, thou didst notgrant my request. Through thy fault, O king, all the Kshatriya race hathbeen exterminated! Bhishma, and Somadatta, and Valhika, and Kripa, andDrona and his son, and the wise Vidura, always solicited thee for peace.Thou didst not, however, follow their counsels! Everyone, it seems, whenafflicted by Time, is stupefied, O Bharata, since even thou, O king, asregards this matter, did act so foolishly! What else can it be but theeffect of Time? Indeed, Destiny is supreme! Do not, O thou of greatwisdom, impute any fault to the Pandavas! The smallest transgression isnot discernible in the high-souled Pandavas, judged by the rules ofmorality or reason or affection, O scorcher of foes! Knowing all this tobe the fruit of thy own fault, it behoveth thee not to cherish anyill-feeling towards the Pandavas! Race, line, funeral cake, and what elsedepends upon offspring, now depend on the Pandavas as regards boththyself and Gandhari! Thyself, O tiger among the Kurus, and the renownedGandhari also, should not harbour malice towards the Pandavas. Reflectingupon all this, and thinking also of thy own transgressions, cherish goodfeeling towards the Pandavas, I bow to thee, O bull of Bharata’s race!Thou knowest, O mighty-armed one, what the devotion is of kingYudhishthira and what his affection is towards thee, O tiger among kings!Having caused this slaughter of even foes that wronged him so, he isburning day and night, and hath not succeeded in obtaining peace of mind!That tiger among men, grieving for thee and for Gandhari, faileth toobtain any happiness. Overwhelmed with shame he cometh not before theethat art burning with grief on account of thy children and whoseunderstanding and senses have been agitated by that grief!” Having saidthese words unto Dhritarashtra, that foremost one of Yadu’s race, Omonarch, addressed the grief-stricken Gandhari in these words of highimport: “O daughter of Subala, thou of excellent vows, listen to what Isay! O auspicious dame, there is now no lady like thee in the world! Thourememberest, O queen, those words that thou spokest in the assembly in mypresence, those words fraught with righteousness and that were beneficialto both parties, which thy sons, O auspicious lady, did not obey!Duryodhana who coveted victory was addressed by thee in bitter words!Thou toldst him then. ‘Listen, O fool, to these words of mine: “thitheris victory where righteousness is.”‘ Those words of thine, O princess,have now been accomplished! Knowing all this, O auspicious lady, do notset thy heart on sorrow. Let not thy heart incline towards thedestruction of the Pandavas! In consequence of the strength of thypenances, thou art able, O highly blessed one, to burn, with thy eyeskindled with rage, the whole Earth with her mobile and immobilecreatures!” Hearing these words of Vasudeva, Gandhari said, “It is evenso, O Keshava, as thou sayest! My heart, burning in grief, has beenunsteadied! After hearing thy words, however, that heart, O Janardana,hath again become steady. As regards the blind old king, now becomechild, thou, O foremost of men, with those heroes, the sons of Pandu,hast become his refuge!” Having said so much, Gandhari, burning in griefon account of the death of her sons, covered her face with her cloth andbegan to weep aloud. The mighty-armed lord Keshava then comforted thegrief-stricken princess with words that were fraught with reasons drawnfrom visible instances. Having comforted Gandhari and Dhritarashtra,Keshava of Madhu’s race came to know (by intuition) the evil that wasmeditated by Drona’s son. Rising up in haste after worshipping the feetof Vyasa bending his head, Keshava, O monarch, addressed Dhritarashtra,saying, “I take my leave, O foremost one of Kuru’s race! Do not set thyheart on grief! The son of Drona bears an evil purpose. It is for thisthat I rise so suddenly! It seems that he has formed a plan of destroyingthe Pandavas during the night!” Hearing these words, both Gandhari andDhritarashtra said unto Keshava that slayer of Keshi, these words: “Go,quickly, O mighty-armed one, protect the Pandavas! Let me soon meet theeagain, O Janardana!” Then Keshava of unfading glory proceeded withDaruka. After Vasudeva had departed, O king, Vyasa, that adored of thewhole world, of inconceivable soul, began to comfort king Dhritarashtra.The righteous-souled Vasudeva departed, having achieved his missionsuccessfully, from Hastinapura, for seeing the camp and the Pandavas.Arrived at the camp, he proceeded to the presence of the Pandavas.Telling them everything (about his mission to the city), he took his seatwith them.”