When I secretly informed him of all this, Dharmas son endeavoured his best for preserving peace with the Kauravas. That, however, which is ordained by the gods proved too powerful (to be frustrated by him). The fiat, O king of the Destroyer, is incapable of being baffled anyhow by mobile and immobile creatures. Thou art devoted to virtue and possessed of superior intelligence, O Bharata! Thou knowest also that which is the way and that which is not the way of all creatures. If king Yudhishthira learns that thou art burning with grief and losing thy senses frequently, he will cast off his very life-breath. He is always compassionate and possessed of wisdom. His kindness extends even to all the inferior creatures. How is it possible, O king, that he will not show compassion to thee, O monarch? At my command, and knowing that what is ordained is inevitable, as also from kindness to the Pandavas, continue to bear thy life, O Bharata! If thou livest thus, thy fame will spread in the world.
Thou shalt then be able to acquire a knowledge of all duties and find many years for obtaining ascetic merit. This grief for the death of thy sons that has arisen in thy heart, like a blazing fire, should always be extinguished, O king, by the water of wisdom!””
Vaishampayana continued, “Hearing these words of Vyasa of immeasurable energy and reflecting upon them for a little while, Dhritarashtra said, O best of regenerate ones, I am exceedingly afflicted by a heavy load of grief. My senses are repeatedly forsaking me and I am unable to bear up my own self. Hearing, however, these words of thine about what had been ordained by the gods, I shall not think of casting off my life-breath and shall live and act without indulging in grief! Hearing these words of Dhritarashtra, O monarch, Satyavatis son, Vyasa, disappeared then and there.”
9
Janamejaya said, “After the holy Vyasa had departed, what, O regenerate sage, did king Dhritarashtra, do? It behoveth thee to tell me this. What also did the Kuru king, the high-souled son of Dharma, do? And how did those three, Kripa and others, do? I have heard of the feats of Ashvatthama and the mutual denouncement of curses. Tell me what happened next and what Sanjaya next said (unto the old king).”
Vaishampayana said, “After Duryodhana had been slain and all the troops slaughtered, Sanjaya, deprived of his spiritual sight, came back to Dhritarashtra.
“Sanjaya said, The kings of diverse peoples, that came from diverse realms, have all, O king, gone to the regions of the dead, along with thy sons. Thy son, O king, who had constantlybeen implored (for peace) but who always wished to terminate his hostility (with the Pandavas by slaughtering them) has caused the earth to be exterminated. Do thou, O king, cause the obsequial rites of thy sons and grandsons and sires to be performed according to due order!”
Vaishampayana continued, “Hearing these terrible words of Sanjaya, the king fell down on the Earth and lay motionless like one deprived of life. Approaching the monarch who was lying prostrate on the Earth, Vidura, conversant with every duty, said these words: Rise, O king, why dost thou lie down thus? Do not grieve, O bull of Bharatas race! Even this, O lord of Earth, is the final end of all creatures. At first creatures are non-existent. In the interim, O Bharata, they become existent. At the end, they once more become non-existent. What cause of sorrow is there in all this? By indulging in grief, one cannot get back the dead. By indulging in grief, one cannot die himself. When such is the course of the world, why dost thou indulge in grief? One may die without having been engaged in battle. One also escapes with life after being engaged in battle. When ones Time comes, O king, one cannot escape! Time drags all kinds of creatures.
There is none dear or hateful to Time, O best of the Kurus! As the wind tears off the ends of all blades of grass, even so all creatures, O bull of Bharatas race, are brought by Time under its influence. All creatures are like members of the same caravan bound for the same destination. What cause of sorrow is there if Time meets with one a little earlier than with another? Those again, O king, that have fallen in battle and for whom thou grievest, are not really objects of thy grief, since all those illustrious ones have gone to heaven. By sacrifices with profuse presents, by ascetic austerities, and by knowledge, people cannot so easily repair to heaven as heroes by courage in battle. All those heroes were conversant with the Vedas; all of them were observant of vows; all of them have perished, facing the foe in battle. What cause of sorrow then is there? They poured their arrowy libations upon the bodies of their brave foes as upon a fire. Foremost of men, they bore in return the arrowy libations poured upon themselves. I tell thee, O king, that there is no better way to heaven for a Kshatriya than through battle. All of them were high-souled Kshatriyas, all of them were heroes and ornaments of assemblies. They have attained to a high state of blessedness. One should not grieve for them. Do thou comfort thy own self. Do not grieve, O bull among men! It behoveth thee not to suffer thyself to be overwhelmed with sorrow and abandon all action.”
10
Vaishampayana said, “Hearing these words of Vidura, that bull of Bharatas race (Dhritarashtra) ordered his car to be yoked. The king once more said, Bring Gandhari hither without delay, and all the Bharata ladies. Bring hither Kunti also, as well as all the other ladies with her. Having said these words unto Vidura, conversant with every duty, Dhritarashtra of righteous soul, deprived of his senses by sorrow, ascended on his car.
Then Gandhari, afflicted with grief on account of the death of her sons, accompanied by Kunti and the other ladies of the royal household, came at the command of her lord to that spot where the latter was waiting for her. Afflicted with grief, they came together to the king. As they met, they accosted each other and uttered loud wails of woe. Then Vidura, who had become more afflicted than those ladies, began to comfort them. Placing those weeping fair ones on the cars that stood ready for them, he set out (with them) from the city.
At that time a loud wail of woe arose from every Kuru house. The whole city, including the very children, became exceedingly afflicted with grief. Thoseladies that had not before this been seen by the very gods were now helpless, as they were, for the loss of their lords, seen by the common people. With their beautiful tresses all dishevelled and their ornaments cast off, those ladies, each attired in a single piece of raiment, proceeded most woefully. Indeed, they issued from their houses resembling white mountains, like a dappled herd of deer from their mountain caves after the fall of their leader. These fair ladies, in successive bevies, O king, came out, filled with sorrow, and ran hither and thither like a herd of fillies on a circus yard.
