Chapter 6

“Drupada said, ‘Of beings those that are endowed with life are superior.Of living beings those that are endowed with intelligence are superior.Of intelligent creatures men are superior.Of men the twice-born aresuperior. Of the twice-born, students of the Veda are superior. Ofstudents of the Veda those of cultured understanding are superior. Ofcultured men practical persons are superior. And finally, of practicalmen those knowing the Supreme Being are superior. You, it seems to me,are at the very top of those that are of cultured understanding. You aredistinguished both for age and learning. You are equal in intellect toeither Sukra or Vrihaspati, the son of Angiras. You know what kind of manthe chief of the Kuru race is, and what kind of man also is Yudhishthira,the son of Kunti. It was with Dhritarashtra’s knowledge that the Pandavaswere-deceived by their opponents. Though instructed by Vidura he yetfollows his son! Sakuni advisedly challenged Yudhishthira to a gamblingmatch although the latter was unskilled in gambling while the former wasan adept in it. Unskilled in play, Yudhishthira was guileless and firm infollowing the rules of the military order. Having thus cheated thevirtuous king Yudhishthira, they will, by no means, voluntarily yield upthe kingdom. If you speak words of righteousness unto Dhritarashtra, youwill certainly gain the hearts of his fighting men. Vidura also will makeuse of those words of yours and will thus alienate the hearts of Bhishma,and Drona, and Kripa, and others. When the officers of state arealienated and fighting men are backward, the task of the enemy will be togain back their hearts. In the meantime, the Pandavas will, with ease andwith their whole hearts, address themselves in preparing the army and incollecting stores. And when the enemy’s adherents are estranged, andwhile you are hanging about them, they will surely not be able to makeadequate preparations for war. This course seems expedient in this wise.On your meeting with Dhritarashtra it is possible that Dhritarashtra maydo what you say. And as you are virtuous, you must therefore actvirtuously towards them. And to the compassionate, you must descant uponthe various hardships that the Pandavas have endured. And you mustestrange the hearts of the aged persons by discoursing upon the familyusages which were followed by their forefathers. I do not entertain theslightest doubt in this matter. Nor need you be apprehensive of anydanger from them, for you are a Brahmana, versed in the Vedas; and youare going thither as an ambassador, and more specially, you are an agedman. Therefore, I ask you to set out without delay towards the Kauravaswith the object of promoting the interests of the Pandavas, timing yourdeparture under the (astrological) combination called Pushya and at thatpart of the day called Jaya.’

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Thus instructed by the magnanimous Drupada, thevirtuous priest set out for Hastinapura (the city called after theelephant). And that learned man, well-versed in the principles of thescience of politics, started with a following of disciples towards theKurus for the sake of promoting the welfare of Pandu’s sons.’