Canto 1 - Chapter 13: Departure of Dhrtarastra and his wife Gandhari, for the forest at the instance of Vidura

Discourse XIII

Departure of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and his wife Gāndhārī,
for the forest at the instance of Vidura

Sūta continued: Having ascertained the truth about the Spirit from the sage Maitreya in the course of his pilgrimage, Vidura returned to Hastināpura; for he had thereby come to know all that he wanted to know. (1)
Exclusive devotion to Śrī Govinda having welled up in his heart even before he could elicit replies to all the questions he had urged for solution by Maitreya (a descendant of the sage Kuṣāru), Vidura pressed no more for a reply to the remaining questions. (2)
Seeing him, their kinsmen, come back, O sage, Yudhiṣṭhira (the son of Dharma, the god of righteousness) and his younger brothers (Bhīma and others), Dhṛtarāṣṭra (their eldest uncle and Vidura's eldest brother) and Yuyutsu (Dhṛtarāṣṭra's only surviving son, born of a Vaiśya wife), Sūta (Sañjaya), Kṛpa (son of Śaradvān), Pṛthā (Kunti, the mother of the Pāṇḍavas), Gāndhārī (Dhṛtarāṣṭra's devoted spouse and daughter of the king of Gāndhāra, the modern Afghanistan), Draupadi (daughter of king Drupada), Subhadrā (Arjuna's wife and Śrī Kṛṣṇa's younger sister, the grandmother of Parikṣit) and Uttarā (Abhimanyu's widow and Parikṣit's mother), Kṛpi (Drona's widow and Kṛpa's younger sister, the mother of Aśwatthāmā) and all the male and female relations of the late king Pāṇḍu (the way of their sacrificial fees. It was more than they could carry home; hence they came away leaving a major part of it on the sacrificial ground. Since all unclaimed property vests in the ruler as a matter of right, the Lord had all this wealth transferred to Yudhiṣṭhira and devoted it to a sacred cause. father of Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers) as well as all the other ladies and their sons went forth in great joy to meet him even as the organs would be roused into activity when life returned to a dead body. They all duly received him by embracing or greeting him and shed copious tears of love, overwhelmed as they were with anxiety caused by (long) separation. When he had taken his seat, the king (duly) paid his respects to him. (3—6)
When after finishing his meal and having reposed (for some time) he was comfortably seated, the king addressed him in the presence of all, his head bent low with humility. (7)

Yudhiṣṭhira said : Do you remember us, brought up under your fostering care (like young birds that flourish under the protective wings of their parents)—how with our mother we were delivered by you from a host of calamities like poisoning and fire ? (8)
How did you manage to keep your body and soul together during your peregrinations on the terrestrial globe? And what places of pilgrimage and principal sacred spots did you visit on the face of the earth? (9)
Devotees of God like you, my lord, are not only consecrated themselves; but it is they who revive the sanctity of sacred places (that get polluted by the contact of sinners) by the living presence of Lord Viṣṇu (the Wielder of a mace), in their heart. (10)
Dear uncle, are our friends and relations, the Yādavas, who look upon Śrī Kṛṣṇa as their deity, doing well in their own city (Dwārakā) ? Did you happen to see or even hear of them ? (11)

Thus interrogated by the pious king (Yudhiṣṭhira) he narrated in order all that he had known at first hand (from Uddhava) omitting, of course, the extermination of the Yādava race. (12)
Compassionate by nature, he could not bear to see his kinsmen in distress; hence he did not break to them that unpleasant news, which was more than they could bear; for he knew that it would come to be known to the people of its own accord. (13)
Adored (by his kinsfolk) as a veritable god, he lived comfortably (at Hastināpura) for some time, anxious to do good to his eldest brother (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) and bringing delight to all. (14)
Aryamā (the second of the twelve sons of Aditi, who preside over the sun successively every month, vide Śrīmad Bhāgavata XII. xi. 32—44) duly carried on the duties of punishing the evil-doers during the hundred years Yama (the god of justice) tenanted the body of a Śūdra (as Vidura) under a curse (pronounced by the sage Māṇḍavya.*) (15)
Having got back his kingdom and seen the face of a grandson capable of upholding the traditions of the family, Yudhiṣṭhira in his supreme splendour rejoiced with his younger brothers, who were as powerful as the guardians of the various worlds. (16)
In this way time, whose movements are most difficult to control, passed unnoticed by them, attached as they were to their home and had lost sight of their goal (for the time being) on account of their remaining engrossed in worldly activities. (17)

Perceiving this, Vidura said to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, "Look here: a terrible time has come. Let us, therefore, soon be away, my royal brother! (18)
That all-powerful time (the time of death) has come upon us all, which cannot be averted on any account and under any circumstance. (19)
Overtaken by it, a man is immediately made to part with his life, which is most dear to him, to say nothing of other things such as wealth and so on. (20)
Your uncles (Bhīṣma and Somadatta), your brother and cousin (Pāṇḍu and Bhūriśravā), your relations (such as your brothers-in-law, Śakuni and Śalya, your son-in-law, Jayadratha and so on), nay, your own sons (Duryodhana and others) have been killed; your days are almost ended and your body is overcome with old age, and (what is worst) you are living under the roof of another (king Yudhiṣṭhira, who was your mortal enemy till yesterday)! (21)
Oh, how strong is the desire in a living being to survive, impelled by which you accept the morsels of food thrown to you by Bhīma even like a dog! (22)
What do you expect to achieve through a life depending on the good-will of those whose dwelling was set on fire, to whom poison was administered, whose wedded wife was subjected to ignominy (in open court), nay, whose lands and other possessions were seized (all with your connivance)? (23)
How foolish of you that you still desire to live! Like tattered clothes, your age-worn body will nonetheless leave you, however reluctant you may be to cast it off. (24)
Therefore, free from worldly attachment and shaking off all bondage, he who drops this body, which is no longer of any use to him, away from and unknown to his kith and kin, he alone is spoken of as wise. (25)
Fed up with this world either by himself or by another's precept and with a subdued mind, and holding Śrī Hari in his heart, he who leaves his home (as a recluse) is foremost among men. (26)
Therefore, unnoticed by your kinsmen, proceed to the north (the Himalayan region); for the time which will come hereafter will be mostly such as would take away the virtues of men." (27)

• Once upon a time the members of a king's police force apprehended some thieves at the hermitage of a sage, Māṇḍavya by name. They naturally suspected the sage of complicity in their nefarious activities and arrested him as well, who was transfixed on the stake along with the thieves under orders of the king. When, however, the king learnt that the suspected accomplice was a saint, he immediately ordered the latter to be released and obtained his forgiveness by falling at his feet. The sage now approached Yama and wanted to know for what sinful act of his he was made to suffer such terrible agony. Yama told him that he had in his childhood pierced a live locust with the point of a blade of Kuśa grass, and that was responsible for the pangs of impalement suffered by him. The sage felt that the punishment meted out to him was out of all proportion with the crime, which must have been committed by him through ignorance. He, therefore, uttered an imprecation against the god, consigning him to earthly life as a Śūdra for one hundred years. It was under his imprecation that Yama was reborn on this earth as Vidura.

Thus instructed by Vidura, his younger brother, the blind king Dhṛtarāṣṭra (a descendant of Ājamīḍha) had his mind's eye opened. Cutting asunder the strong ties of affection that bound him to his kinsmen, he departed, his brother (Vidura) himself acting as his guide. (28)
Perceiving that her husband was proceeding to the Himālayas—which afforded great delight to recluses (lit., those who have taken a vow of non-violence) even as a righteous combat (on the battle-field) delights a heroic warrior—the virtuous Gāndhārī (the daughter of king Subala) too, who had taken a vow of devoted service to her lord, followed him in his journey. (29)

Having said his Sandhyā prayers and poured oblations into the sacred fire, and having bowed to the Brāhmaṇas and bestowed on them gifts of sesamum seeds, cows, lands and gold, king Yudhiṣṭhira (who looked upon none as his enemy) entered the apartments of his elders for his daily salutations, but failed to perceive either of his uncles or even his aunt (Gāndhārī). (30)
With an anxious heart he asked Sañjaya (Dhṛtarāṣṭra's counsellor and trusted servant), who was sitting there, "Sañjaya (son of Gavalgaṇa), where is our aged uncle, who is blind too? (31)
Where is my aunt, grieved at the loss of her sons, and where is my younger uncle gone, who was so kindly disposed towards us? Distressed at the loss of his near and dear ones and apprehending ill treatment from my foolish self, may it be that he has thrown himself into the Gaṅgā, along with his wife? (32)
After the death of our father, king Pāṇḍu, it was our uncles who protected us all, their children, against a series of calamities, tender of age as we were. Ah, where have they gone from here?" (33)

Sūta continued : Sore afflicted with grief and overwhelmed with affection at the sudden disappearance of his master and feeling very sad on account of his separation from him, Sañjaya (who too was a Sūta by birth) could not utter a word in reply. (34)
Then, wiping the tears with his hands and steadying his mind by recourse to reason, he replied to Yudhiṣṭhira (as follows) with his thought fixed on the feet of his lord (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) : (35)

Sañjaya said : "I know neither the resolve of your uncles nor of your aunt, O delight of your race. I have been deceived by those noble souls! O lord with mighty arms." (36)
In the meantime came the divine sage Nārada, accompanied by the sage Tumburu. Yudhiṣṭhira went forth with his younger brothers to receive them and, after greeting them, spoke with great reverence: (37)

Yudhiṣṭhira said : "I know not the movements of my uncles, O divine sage; I wonder where they have gone hence. Nor do I know where is gone my aunt, so well-known for her austere penance and distressed at the loss of her sons. (38)
Your Holiness alone can guide us across this endless ocean (of grief) as a pilot in the deep." Thereupon the worshipful Nārada, the foremost among sages, spoke (as follows) :—(39)
"Grieve not for anybody, O king; for the world is under the control of God. It is to Him, the supreme Ruler of all, that all these worlds along with their rulers offer their homage. It is He who unites and He again who parts living beings from one another. (40)
Even as oxen, controlled individually by small strings passed through their nostrils and held together by a strong rope, carry loads for their master, so these human beings, tied down to the rope of the divine word (the Veda) through the smaller strings of their different denominations (such as Brāhmaṇa, Brahmacāri and so on), offer their worship to God (through their respective duties). (41)
Even as playthings here (in this world) are brought together and separated by the will of the player, so do the coming together and parting of human beings depend on the will of God. (42)
Whether you consider human beings to be eternal (as the soul or spirit) or ephemeral (as the corporeal body) or both eternal and transient (as embodied souls) or as neither eternal nor ephemeral (as the unspeakable Absolute, which is devoid of all attributes), they are not worth grieving for unless through affection born of infatuation. (43)
Therefore, O dear Yudhiṣṭhira, shake off the uneasiness of mind, caused by ignorance, as to how those people (your uncles and aunt) may be faring without you, helpless and miserable as they are. (44)
This body, constituted as it is of the five elements (viz., earth, water, fire, air and ether), is subject to the control of time, fate and the three modes of Prakṛti (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas). How can it protect others any more than a man fallen in the jaws of a python can help another? (45)
The handless (such as the quadruped) serve as the subsistence of those that have hands (such as human beings); those that have no feet (such as grass etc.) sustain the life of the four-footed animals; and (even among the handless) the smaller ones serve as the sustenance of the bigger ones. (In this way) life sustains life. (46)
All this, O king, is the one self-effulgent Lord, the Self of all embodied souls. It is He who appears as the subject and the object. Perceive Him as manifested in multitudinous forms through Māyā (illusion). (47)
It is He, O mighty ruler—the same Lord who brings into being this living creation—who has now appeared on this earth as living Death (Kāla) for the extermination of the enemies of gods. (48)
The work of the gods has now been (well-nigh) accomplished and the Lord awaits the completion of that which yet remains to be done. You too should wait so long as the Lord is still here: (49)

"Dhṛtarāṣṭra with his younger brother and his own wife, Gāndhārī, has gone to the hermitage of sages to the south of the Himālayas, where the Gaṅgā (the celestial river) has for the pleasure of the seven celebrated sages (Saptarṣis as they are called) split herself into seven streams to flow through seven different channels, which they call Saptasrota. (50-51)
Bathing in the Saptasrota thrice a day (in the morning and evening as well as at midday), and pouring oblations into the sacred fire according to the scriptural ordinance, he is living on water alone, serene of mind and free from all cravings. (52)
Having controlled his pose (sitting in one pose continually for hours together) and breath and withdrawn his six senses (the five external senses and the mind, which is known as the sixth or internal sense) from their objects, he has shaken off through contemplation on Śrī Hari the impurities of his mind in the shape of Rajas, Sattva and Tamas. (53)
Nay, merging his ego (sense of I-ness or individuality) in Buddhi (the principle of intelligence and the source of I-consciousness) and dissolving his Buddhi in the individual soul (the Kṣetrajña as it is called), he has identified his individual soul with the Absolute (Brahma), the substratum of all, as the space within a jar is united with the unlimited space. (54)
Again, having thoroughly controlled his senses and mind, he has given up all enjoyment and uprooted the effects (in the shape of latent desires) of the Guṇas of Māyā. Nay, having abandoned all his duties, he sits motionless like a post now. Therefore, do not stand in his way (by trying to contact him). (55)
On the fifth day hence, O king, he will cast off his body, which will be reduced to ashes. (56)
Finding the body of her lord being consumed along with the hut (he is occupying) by the sacrificial fires, his virtuous wife, standing outside, will enter the fire in order to follow her husband. (57)
And, witnessing this wonder with a mixed feeling of joy and grief, O delight of the Kurus, Vidura will go out (again) on pilgrimage to sacred places." (58)
Having told him all this, the sage Nārada with Tumburu immediately ascended to heaven; and, treasuring up his words in his heart, Yudhiṣṭhira ceased sorrowing. (59)

Thus ends the thirteenth discourse, forming part of the story of the Naimiṣa forest, in Book One of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Sarhhitā.