Chapter 31

“Yudhishthira said, ‘O Sanjaya, the righteous and the unrighteous, theyoung and the old, the weak and the strong, are all under the control ofthe Creator, It is that Supreme Lord who imparteth knowledge to the childand childishness to the learned, according to his own will. IfDhritarashtra ask thee about our strength, tell him everything truly,having cheerfully consulted with everyone here and ascertained the truth.O son of Gavalgana, repairing unto the Kurus, thou wilt salute the mightyDhritarashtra, and touching his feet enquire after his welfare speakingin our name. And when seated in the midst of the Kurus, tell him fromus.–The sons of Pandu, O king, are living happily in consequence of thyprowess. It was through thy grace, O repressor of foes, that thosechildren of tender years had obtained a kingdom. Having first bestowed akingdom on them, thou shouldst not now be indifferent to them, fordestruction then would overtake them! The whole of this kingdom, OSanjaya, is not fit to be owned by one person. Tell him again, fromus.–O sire, we wish to live united. Do not suffer thyself to bevanquished by foes.–Thou shouldst again, O Sanjaya, bending thy head, inmy name salute the grandsire of the Bharatas, Bhishma, the son ofSantanu. Having saluted our grandsire, he should then be told.–By thee,when Santanu’s race was about to be extinct, it was revived. Therefore, Osire, do that according to thy own judgment by which thy grandsons mayall live in amity with one another. Thou shouldst then address Viduraalso, that adviser of the Kurus, saying.–Counseleth peace, O amiableone, from desire of doing good unto Yudhishthira.–Thou shouldst addressthe unforbearing prince Duryodhana also, when seated in the midst of theKurus, beseeching him again and again, saying,–The insults thou hadstoffered to innocent and helpless Draupadi in the midst of the assembly,we will quietly bear, simply because we have no mind to see the Kurusslain. The other injuries also, both before and after that, the sons ofPandu are quietly bearing, although they are possessed of might to avengethem. All this, indeed, the Kauravas know. O amiable one, thou hadst evenexiled us dressed in deer-skins. We are bearing that also because we donot want to see the Kurus slain. Dussasana, in obedience to thee, haddragged Krishna, disregarding Kunti. That act also will be forgiven byus. But, O chastiser of foes, we must have our proper share of thekingdom. O bull among men, turn thy coveting heart from what belongeth toothers. Peace then, O king, will be amongst our gladdened selves. We aredesirous of peace; give us even a single province of the empire. Give useven Kusasthala, Vrikasthala, Makandi, Varanavata, and for the fifth anyother that thou likest. Even this will end the quarrel. O Suyodhana, giveunto thy five brothers at least five villages,–O Sanjaya, O thou ofgreat wisdom, let there be peace between us and our cousins. Tell himalso,–Let brothers follow brothers, let sires unite with sons. Let thePanchalas mingle with the Kurus in merry laughter. That I may see theKurus and the Panchalas whole and sound, is what I desire. O bull of theBharata race, with, cheerful hearts let us make peace. O Sanjaya, I amequally capable of war and peace. I am prepared to acquire wealth as wellas to earn virtue. I am fit enough for severity as for softness.'”