Chapter 94

“Vaisampayana said, ‘In such conversation between those two distinguishedpersons, both of whom were endued with great intelligence, that night,lit with bright stars, passed away. Indeed, the night passed away againstthe wishes of the illustrious Vidura, who had been listening to thevaried conversation of Krishna fraught with virtue, profit, and desire,and made up of delightful words and syllables of agreeable import; andalso those of Krishna himself, of ‘immeasurable prowess, listening todiscourses equal in style and character. Then, at early dawn a band ofchoristers and bards gifted with melodious voices, awoke Kesava withsweet sounds of conchs and cymbals. And rising from bed, Janardana ofDasarha’s race, that bull amongst all the Sattwatas, went through all thecustomary acts of the morning. And having cleansed himself by a bath,recited the sacred Mantras and poured libations of clarified butter onthe sacrificial fire. Madhava decked his person and began to worship therising sun. And while the unvanquished Krishna of Dasarha’s race wasstill engaged in his morning devotions, Duryodhana and Suvala’s sonSakuni came to him and said, ‘Dhritarashtra is seated in his court, withall the Kurus headed by Bhishma and with all the kings of the earth. Theyare all soliciting thy presence, O Govinda, like the celestials in heavendesiring the presence of Sakra himself,–thus addressed, Govinda greetedthem both with sweet and courteous enquiries. And when the sun had risena little higher, Janardana, that chastiser of foes, summoning a number ofBrahmanas, made them presents of gold and robes and kine and steeds.

And after he had thus given away much wealth and taken his seat, hisdriver (Daruka) came and saluted that unvanquished hero of Dasarha’srace. And Daruka soon returned with his master’s large and blazing carfurnished with rows of tinkling bells and harnessed with excellentsteeds. And understanding that his handsome car adorned with everyornament and producing a rattle, deep as the rumbling of the mightymasses of clouds, was ready, the high-souled Janardana, that delighter ofall the Yadavas, walking round the sacred fire and a band of Brahmanas,and putting on the gem known by the name of Kaustubha, and blazing withbeauty, surrounded by the Kurus, and well-protected by the Vrishnis,mounted on it. And Vidura, conversant with all the precepts of religion,followed on his own car that scion of Dasarha’s race, that foremost ofall living creatures, that first of all persons gifted with intelligence.And Duryodhana and Suvala’s son Sakuni also, on one car followed Krishna,that chastiser of foes. And Satyaki and Kritavarman and the other mightycar-warriors of the Vrishni race, all rode behind Krishna on cars andsteeds and elephants. And, O king, the handsome cars of those heroes,adorned with gold and drawn by excellent steeds and each producing a loudrattle, as they moved forward, shone brilliantly. And Kesava, endued withgreat intelligence, and beaming with beauty, soon came upon a broadstreet that had previously been swept and watered, and that was fit to beused by the highest of kings. And when that scion of Dasarha’s race setout, cymbals began to play, and conchs began to be blown, and otherinstruments also to pour forth their music. And great number of youthfulheroes, foremost in the world for heroism, and possessed of lion-likeprowess, proceeded, surrounding Sauri’s car. And many thousands ofsoldiers, attired in a variegated dresses, bearing swords and lances andaxes, marched in advance of Kesava. And there were full five hundredelephants, and cars by thousands, that followed that unvanquished hero ofDasarha’s race while he proceeded. And, O chastiser of foes, all thecitizens of the capital, of all ages and both sexes, desirous ofbeholding Janardana came out into the streets. And the terraces andbalconies of the houses were so thronged by ladies that the houses wereon the point of falling down with the weight. And worshipped by theKurus, and listening to various sweet speeches, and returning thegreetings of all as each deserved, Kesava went along the street, castinghis eyes on all. And at last, when Kesava reached the Kuru court, hisattendants loudly blew their conchs and trumpets and filled the welkinwith that blare. And, thereupon, that whole assembly of kings, ofimmeasurable prowess, trembled with delight at the expectation of soonsetting their eyes on Krishna. And hearing the rattle of his car, thatrumbled like the deep roll of rain-charged clouds, the monarchsunderstood Krishna to be near, and the hair of their bodies stood erectwith delight. And having reached the gate of the court, Sauri, that bullamong the Satwatas, alighting from his car, that resembled the summit ofKailasa, entered the court which looked like a mass of newly-risenclouds, and blazed forth with beauty, and resembled the very abode of thegreat Indra. And that illustrious hero entered the court, arm-in-arm withVidura and Satyaki on either side, and overshadowing with his own thesplendour of all the Kurus, like the sun overshadowing the radiance oflesser lights in the firmament. And before Vasudeva sat Karna andDuryodhana, while behind him were seated the Vrishnis with Kritavarman.And Bhishma and Drona, and others with Dhritarashtra were on the point ofrising up from their seats for honouring Janardana. Indeed, as soon ashe, of Dasarha’s race, came, the illustrious blind monarch, Drona andBhishma, all rose up from their seats. And when that mighty ruler of men,king Dhritarashtra, rose up from his seat, those kings by thousandsaround him all rose up also. And at Dhritarashtra’s command, a seatbeautiful all over, and adorned with gold, had been kept there forKrishna, And after taking his seat, Madhava smilingly greeted the king,and Bhishma, and Drona, and all other rulers, each according to his age.And all the kings of the earth, and all the Kurus also, beholding Kesavaarrived in that assembly, worshipped him duly. And as that chastiser offoes, that vanquisher of hostile cities, that hero of Dasarha’s race, wasseated there, he beheld the Rishis whom he had seen while proceeding toHastinapur, staying in the firmament. And beholding those Rishis withNarada at their head, he of Dasarha’s race, slowly addressed Bhishma theson of Santanu, saying, ‘O king, the Rishis have come to see this earthlyconclave of ours. Invite them with offer of seats and abundant courtesy,for if they are not seated, no one here is capable of taking his seat.Let proper worship, therefore, be speedily offered unto these Rishis withsouls under proper control. And beholding the Rishis then at the gate ofthe palace, Santanu’s son quickly ordered the servants to bring seats forthem. And soon enough they brought large and beautiful seats embroideredwith gold and set with gems. And after the Rishis. O Bharata, had takentheir seats and accepted the Arghyas offered to them, Krishna took hisseat, so also all the kings. And Dussasana gave an excellent seat toSatyaki, while Vivingsati gave another golden one to Kritavarman. And notfar from where Krishna sat, that illustrious and wrathful pair, Karna andDuryodhana, sat together on the same seat. And Sakuni, the king ofGandhara, surrounded by the chiefs of his country, sat there, O king,with his son beside him. And the high-souled Vidura sat on a begemmedseat covered with a white deer-skin that almost touched Krishna’s seat.And all the kings in the assembly, although they gazed at Janardana ofDasarha’s race for a long while, were not, however, gratified with theirgaze, like drinkers of the Amrita, that are never satiated with quaffingmeasure after measure. And Janardana attired in yellow robes having thecomplexion of the Atasi flower, sat in the midst of that assembly like asapphire mounted on gold. And after Govinda had taken his seat, a perfectsilence ensued, for none present there spoke a single word.'”