Chapter 30

“Sanjaya said, ‘I did thee farewell, O divine ruler of men. I will nowdepart, O son of Pandu. Let prosperity be thine. I hope, I have notcarried away by the feelings of my heart, given utterance to anythingoffensive. I would also bid farewell to Janardana, to Bhima and Arjuna,to the son of Madri, to Satyaki, and to Chekitana, and take my departure.Let peace and happiness be yours. Let all the kings look at me with eyesof affection.’

“Yudhishthira said, ‘Permitted by us, O Sanjaya, take your leave. Peaceto thee! O learned man, thou never thinkest ill of us. Both they and weknow thee to be a person of pure heart in the midst of all in the court(of the Kurus). Besides, being an ambassador now, O Sanjaya, thou artfaithful, beloved by us, of agreeable speech and excellent conduct, andwell-affected towards us. Thy mind is never clouded, and even ifaddressed harshly thou art never moved to wrath. O Suta, thou neverutterest harsh and cutting words, or those that are false or bitter. Weknow that thy words, free from malice, are always fraught with moralityand grave import. Amongst envoys thou art the most dear to us. Besidethee, there is another, who may come here, and that is Vidura. Formerly,we always used to see thee. Thou art, indeed, a friend to us as dear asDhananjaya. Proceeding hence, O Sanjaya, with all speed, thou shouldstwait upon those Brahmanas of pure energy and devoted to study accordingto the Brahmacharya mode,–those, namely, that are devoted to the studyof the Vedas while leading lives of mendicancy, those ascetics thathabitually dwell in the woods, as also the aged ones of other classes,should all be addressed by thee in my name, O Sanjaya, and then theirwelfare should be enquired into by thee. O Suta, repairing unto thepriest of king Dhritarashtra as also unto his preceptors and Ritwijas,thou shouldst address them and enquire after their welfare. Even amongstthem that are, though not well-born at least aged, endued with energy,and possessed of good behaviour and strength, who remembering speak of usand practise according to their might even the least virtue, should firstbe informed of my peace, O Sanjaya, and then shouldst thou enquire aftertheir welfare. Thou shouldst also enquire after the welfare of those thatlive in the kingdom carrying on trade, and those that live there fillingimportant offices of state. Our beloved preceptor Drona, who is fullyversed in morality, who is our counsellor, who had practised theBrahmacharya vow for mastering the Vedas, who once again hath made thescience of weapons full and complete, and who is always graciouslyinclined towards us, should be greeted by thee in our name. Thou shouldstalso enquire into the welfare of Aswatthaman, endued with great learning,devoted to the study of the Vedas, leading the Brahmacharya mode of life,possessed of great activity, and like unto a youth of the Gandharva race,and who, besides, hath once again made the science of weapons full andcomplete. Thou must also, O Sanjaya, repair to the abode of Kripa, theson of Saradwat, that mighty car-warrior and foremost of all personshaving a knowledge of self, and repeatedly saluting him in my name touchhis feet with thy hand. Thou shouldst also, touching his feet, representme as hale unto that foremost of the Kurus, Bhishma, in whom are combinedbravery, and abstention from injury, and asceticism, and wisdom and goodbehaviour, and Vedic learning, and great excellence, and firmness.Saluting unto also the wise, venerable, and blind king (Dhritarashtra),who possessed of great learning and reverential to the old, is the leaderof the Kurus. Thou shouldst also, O Sanjaya, enquire, O sire, about thewelfare of the eldest of Dhritarashtra’s sons, Suyodhana, who is wickedand ignorant and deceitful and vicious, and who now governs the entireworld. Thou shouldst also enquire about the welfare of even the wickedDussasana, that mighty bowman and hero among the Kurus, who is theyounger of Duryodhana and who possesses a character like that of hiselder brother. Thou shouldst, O Sanjaya, also salute the wise chief ofthe Vahlikas, who always cherishes no other wish save that there shouldbe peace among the Bharatas. I think, thou shouldst also worship thatSomadatta who is endued with numerous excellent qualities, who is wiseand possesses a merciful heart, and who from his affection for the Kurusalways controls his anger towards them. The son of Somadatta is worthy ofthe greatest reverence among the Kurus. He is my friend and is a brotherto us. A mighty bowman and the foremost of car-warriors, he is worthy inall respects. Thou shouldst, O Sanjaya, enquire after his welfare alongwith that of his friends and counsellors. Others there are of youthfulage and of consideration amongst the Kurus, who bear a relationship to uslike that of sons, grandsons, and brothers. Unto each of these thou mustspeak words which thou mayst consider suitable, enquiring, O Suta, afterhis welfare. Thou must also enquire about the welfare of those kings thathave been assembled by Dhritarashtra’s son for fighting with thePandavas, viz., the Kekayas, the Vasatis, the Salwakas, the Amvashthas,and the leading Trigartas, and of those endued with great bravery thathave come from the east, the north, the south, and the west, and of thosethat have come from hilly countries, in fact, of all amongst them thatare not cruel and that lead good lives. Thou shouldst also represent untoall those persons who ride on elephants, and horses and cars, and whofight on foot,–that mighty host composed of honourable men,–that I amwell, and then thou must enquire about their own welfare. Thou must alsoenquire about the welfare of those that serve the king in the matter ofhis revenue or as his door-keepers, or as the leaders of his troops, oras the accountants of his income and outlay, or as officers constantlyoccupied in looking after other important concerns. Thou must, O sire,also enquire about the welfare of Dhritarashtra’s son by his Vaisyawife,–that youth who is one of the best of the Kuru race,–who neverfalls into error, who possesseth vast wisdom, who is endued with everyvirtue, and who never cherishes a liking for this war! Thou shouldst alsoask about the welfare of Chitrasena who is unrivalled in the tricks ofdice, whose tricks are never detected by others, who plays well, who iswell-versed in the art of handling the dice, and who is unconquerable inplay but not in fight. Thou must also, O sire, enquire about the welfareof Sakuni, the king of the Gandharas, that native of the hilly country,who is unrivalled in deceitful games at dice, who enhances the pride ofDhritarashtra’s son, and whose understanding naturally leads tofalsehood. Thou must also enquire about the welfare of Karna, the son ofVikartana, that hero who is ready to vanquish, alone and unassisted,mounted on his car, the Pandavas whom no one dares assail in battle, thatKarna who is unparalleled in deluding those that are already deluded.Thou must also enquire about the welfare of Vidura, O sire, who alone isdevoted to us, who is our instructor, who reared us, who is our fatherand mother and friend, whose understanding finds obstruction in nought,whose ken reaches far, and who is our counsellor. Thou must also saluteall the aged dames and those who are known to be possessed of merit, andthose who are like mothers to us, meeting them gathered together in oneplace. Thou must tell them, O Sanjaya, these words at first,–Ye mothersof living sons, I hope, your sons comfort themselves towards you in akindly, considerate, and worthy way.–Thou must then tell them thatYudhishthira is doing well with his sons. Those ladies, O Sanjaya, whoare in the rank of our wives, thou must ask as to their welfare alsoaddressing them in these words,–I hope, you are well-protected. I hope,your fair fame hath suffered no injury. I hope, you are dwelling withinyour abodes blamelessly and carefully. I hope, you are comfortingyourselves towards your fathers-in-law in a kindly, praise-worthy andconsiderate way. You must steadily adopt such a conduct for yourselves aswill help you to win your husband’s favour! Those young ladies, OSanjaya, who bear a relationship to us like that of yourdaughters-in-law, who have been brought from high families, who arepossessed of merit and who are mothers of children,–thou must meet themall and tell them that Yudhishthira send his kindly greetings to them.Thou must, O Sanjaya, embrace the daughters of your house, and must askthem about their welfare on my behalf. Thou must tell them,–May yourhusbands be kindly and agreeable; may you be agreeable to your husbands;may you have ornaments and clothes and perfumery and cleanliness; may yoube happy and have at your command the joys of life; may your looks bepretty and words pleasant; Thou must ask, O sire, the women of the houseas to their welfare. Thou must also represent unto the maid-servants andman-servants there, may be of the Kurus, and also the many humpbacked andlame ones among them, that I am doing well, and thou must then ask themabout their welfare. Thou must tell them,–I hope, Dhritarashtra’s sonstill vouchsafes the same kindly treatment to you. I hope, he gives youthe comforts of life.–Thou must also represent unto those that aredefective in limb, those that are imbecile, the dwarfs to whomDhritarashtra gives food and raiment from motives of humanity, those thatare blind, and all those that are aged, as also to the many that have theuse only of their hands being destitute of legs, that I am doing well,and that I ask them regarding their welfare, addressing them in thefollowing words,–Fear not, nor be dispirited on account of your unhappylives so full of sufferings; no doubt, sins must have been committed byyou in your former lives. When I shall check my foes, and delight myfriends, I shall satisfy you by gifts of food and clothes.–Thou shouldstalso, O sire, at our request, enquire after the welfare of those that aremasterless and weak, and of those that vainly strive to earn a living,and of those that are ignorant, in fact, of all those persons that are inpitiable circumstances. O charioteer, meeting those others, that comingfrom different quarters, have sought the protection of theDhritarashtras, and in fact, all who deserve our greetings, thou shouldstalso enquire about their welfare and peace. Thou shouldst also enquireabout the welfare of those who have come to the Kurus of their own accordor who have been invited, as also of all the ambassadors arrived from allsides and then represent unto them that I am well. As regards thewarriors that have been obtained by Dhritarashtra’s son, there are noneequal to them on earth. Virtue, however, is eternal, and virtue is mypower for the destruction of my enemies. Thou shouldst, O Sanjaya, alsorepresent unto Suyodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra, the following,–Thatdesire of thine which torments thy heart, viz., the desire of ruling theKurus without a rival, is very unreasonable. It had no justification. Asfor ourselves, we will never act in such a way as to do anything that maybe disagreeable to thee! O foremost of heroes anwng the Bharatas, eithergive me lack my own Indraprastha or fight with me!'”