Chapter 124

“Dhritarashtra said, ‘O holy one, it is even so as thou, O Narada,sayest. My wish also is precisely such, but, O holy one, I have no power(to carry them out)!’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘The Kuru king, having said these words untoNarada, then addressed Krishna and said, ‘Thou hast, O Kesava, told methat which leadeth to heaven, what is beneficial to the world, consistentwith virtue, and fraught with reason. I am not, however, O sire,independent. Duryodhana never doth what is agreeable to me. Do thou,therefore, O mighty-armed Krishna, O best of persons, strive to persuadethat foolish and wicked son of mine, who disobeyeth my commands. Omighty-armed one, he never listeneth to the beneficial words, OHrishikesa, of Gandhari, or of wise Vidura, or of other friends headed byBhishma, all of whom seek his good. Do thou, therefore, thyself counselthat crooked, senseless, and wicked-souled prince, of evil dispositionand sinful heart. By doing this, O Janardana, thou shalt have done thatnoble act which a friend should ever do.’ Thus addressed, he of Vrishni’srace, conversant with the truths of virtue and profit, approached nearerto the ever-wrathful Duryodhana and said unto him these sweet words, ‘ODuryodhana, O best of the Kurus, listen to these words of mine, utteredespecially for thy good, as also, O Bharata, for that of thy followers,Thou art born in a race that is distinguished for its great wisdom. Itbehoveth thee to act righteously as I indicate. Possessed of learning andendued with excellent behaviour, thou art adorned with every excellentquality. They that are born in ignoble families, or are wicked-souled,cruel, and shameless, they only, O sire, act in the way that seemethacceptable to thee. In this world, the inclinations of those only thatare righteous seem to be consistent with the dictates of virtue andprofit. The inclinations, however, of those that are unrighteous seem tobe perverse. O bull of Bharata’s race, the disposition that thou artrepeatedly manifesting is of that perverse kind. Persistence in suchbehaviour is sinful, frightful, highly wicked, and capable of leading todeath itself. It is besides, causeless, while, again, thou canst not, OBharata, adhere to it long. If by avoiding this which is productive onlyof woe, thou wilt achieve thy own good, if, O chastiser of foes, thouwilt escape from the sinful and disreputable deeds of thy brothers,followers, and counsellors, then, O tiger among men, make peace, O bullamong the Bharatas, with the sons of Pandu who are all endued with greatwisdom and great bravery with great exertion and great learning an all ofwhom have their souls under complete control. Such conduct will beagreeable to and conducive to the happiness of Dhritarashtra who isendued with great wisdom, of grandsire (Bhishma), Drona, the high-souledKripa, Somadatta, wise Vahlika, Aswatthaman, Vikarna, Sanjaya,Vivingsati, and of many of thy kinsmen, O chastiser of foes, and many ofthy friends also. The whole world, O sire, will derive benefit from thatpeace. Thou art endued with modesty, born in a noble race, hast learningand kindness of heart. Be obedient, O sire, to the commands of thyfather, and also of thy mother, O bull of Bharata’s race. They that aregood sons always regard that to be beneficial which their fatherscommand. Indeed, when overtaken by calamity, every one recollects theinjunctions of his father. Peace with the Pandavas, O sire, recommenditself to thy father. Let it, therefore, O chief of the Kurus recommenditself to thee also with thy counsellors. That mortal who having listenedto the counsels of friends doth not act according to them, is consumed atthe end by the consequences of his disregard, like him who swalloweth thefruit called Kimpaka. He that from folly doth not accept beneficialcounsels, unnerved by procrastination and unable to attain his object, isobliged to repent at last. He, on the other hand, who having listened tobeneficial counsels accepteth them at once, abandoning his opinion,always winneth happiness in the world. He that rejects the words ofwell-meaning friends, regarding those words as opposed to his interest,but accepts words that are really so opposed, is soon subjugated by hisfoes. Disregarding the opinions of the righteous he that abideth by theopinions of the wicked, soon maketh his friends weep for him inconsequence of his being plunged into distress. Forsaking superiorcounsellors he that seeketh the advice of inferior ones, soon fallethinto great distress and succeedeth not in saving himself. That companionof the sinful, who behaveth falsely and never listeneth to good friends,who honoureth strangers but hateth those that are his own, is soon, OBharata, cast off by the Earth. O bull of Bharata’s race, havingquarrelled with those (the sons of Pandu), thou seekest protection fromothers viz., those that are sinful, incapable, and foolish. What otherman is there on earth besides thee, who, disregarding kinsmen, that areall mighty charioteers, and each of whom resembleth Sakra himself, wouldseek protection and aid from strangers? Thou hast persecuted the sons ofKunti, from their very birth. They have not been angry with thee, for thesons of Pandu are indeed virtuous. Although thou hast behaved deceitfullytowards the Pandavas from their very birth, yet, O mighty-armed one,those distinguished persons have acted generously towards thee. Itbehoveth thee, therefore, O bull of Bharata’s race, to act towards thoseprincipal kinsmen of thine with equal generosity. Do not yield thyself tothe influence of wrath. O bull of Bharata’s race, the exertions of thewise are always associated with virtue, profit, and desire. If, indeed,all these three cannot be attained, men follow at least virtue andprofit. If, again, these three are pursued separately, it is seen thatthey that have their hearts under control, choose virtue; they that areneither good nor bad but occupy a middle station, choose profit, which isalways the subject of dispute; while they that are fools choose thegratification of desire. The fool that from temptation giveth up virtueand pursueth profit and desire by unrighteous means, is soon destroyed byhis senses. He that speaketh profit and desire, should yet practisevirtue at the outset, for neither profit nor desire is (really)dissociated from virtue. O king, it hath been said that virtue alone isthe cause of the three, for he that seeketh the three, may, by the aid ofvirtue alone, grow like fire when brought into contact with a heap of drygrass. O bull of Bharata’s race, thou seeketh, O sire, by unrighteousmeans this extensive empire, flourishing with prosperity and well-knownto all the monarchs of the earth. O king, he that behaveth falselytowards those that live and conduct themselves righteously, certainlycutteth down his own self, like a forest with an axe. One must not seekto confound his understanding whose overthrow one doth not like, for, ifone’s understanding is confounded, one can never devote his attention towhat is beneficial. One that hath his soul under control never, OBharata, disregardeth anybody in the three worlds,–no, not even thecommonest creature, far less those bulls among men, the sons of Pandu. Hethat surrendereth himself to the influence of anger loseth his sense ofright and wrong. Rank growth must always be cut off. Behold, O Bharata,this is the proof. At present, O sire, union with the sons of Pandu isbetter for thee than thy union with the wicked. If thou makest peace withthem, thou mayst obtain the fruition of all thy wishes. O best of kings,while enjoying the kingdom that has been founded by the Pandavas, thouseekest protection from others, disregarding the Pandavas themselves.Reposing the cares of thy state on Dussasana, Durvisaha, Karna, andSuvala’s son, thou desirest the continuance of thy prosperity, O Bharata.These, however, are far inferior to the Pandavas in knowledge, in virtue,in capacity for acquiring wealth, and in prowess. Indeed, O Bharata, (letalone the four I have mentioned) all these kings together, with thee attheir head, are incapable of even looking at the face of Bhima, whenangry, on the field of battle. O sire, this force consisting of all thekings of the earth is, indeed, at thy elbow. There are also Bhishma, andDrona, and this Karna, and Kripa, and Bhurisrava, and Somadatta, andAswatthaman, and Jayadratha. All these together are incapable of fightingagainst Dhananjaya. Indeed, Arjuna is incapable of being vanquished inbattle even by all the gods, Asuras, men, and Gandharvas. Do not set thyheart for battle. Seest thou the man in any of the royal races of theearth, who having encountered Arjuna in battle can return home safe andsound? O bull of Bharata’s race, what advantage is there in a universalslaughter? Show me a single man who will defeat that Arjuna, by defeatingwhom alone victory may be thine? Who will encounter that son of Pandu inbattle, who had vanquished all the celestials with the Gandharvas,Yakshas and Pannagas at Khandavaprastha? Then also the marvellous accountthat is heard of what happened at Virata’s city, touching that encounterbetween one and many, is sufficient proof of this, Hopest thou tovanquish in battle Arjuna who when excited with rage is invincible,irresistible, ever-victorious, and undeteriorating Arjuna, that hero, whogratified the God of gods, Siva himself in fight? With myself again ashis second when that son of Pritha will rush to the field of battleagainst an enemy, who is there that is competent to challenge him then?Can Purandara himself do so? He that would vanquish Arjuna in battlewould support the Earth on his arms, consume in rage the whole populationof the Earth, and hurl the very gods from heaven. Look at thy sons, thybrothers, kinsmen, and other relatives. Let not these chiefs of Bharata’srace all perish on thy account. Let not the race of Kauravas beexterminated or reduced. O king, let not people say that thou art theexterminator of thy race and the destroyer of its achievements. Thosemighty car-warriors, the Pandavas (if peace be made) will install thee asthe Yuvaraja, and thy father Dhritarashtra, that lord of men, as thesovereign of this extensive empire. Do not, O sire, disregard theprosperity that is awaiting thee and is sure to come. Giving to the sonsof Pritha half the kingdom, win thou great prosperity. Making peace withthe Pandavas and acting according to the counsels of thy friends, andrejoicing with them, thou art sure to obtain what is for thy good forever and ever.'”