In plain words
They must face the Kauravas. Each one went on saying it in his own way. Kṛṣṇa said, “First of all, bow to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Even though he is wicked, even though he is evil, you must not give up your duty. Ask him, ‘Where are we to live?’ If he gives you your former kingdom, well and good. Otherwise, we will make the plans we then have to make. There are four kinds. Let us first go the just way. After that we will agree on his own request: sāma, dāna, bheda, daṇḍa, the means.” For the Pāṇḍavas, today and for all time, His word itself is life. Let Him say anything. Today it is not like that. If things come out as you like, all right; if they come out against what you like, it is nothing but hatred towards Kṛṣṇa. That is why the Bhakti and surrender that were in the five Pāṇḍavas are not seen in a single person. They suffered hardships in the forest. In Indraprastha, in Hastināpura, they suffered every hardship there was. They put them in the house of lac and set it on fire. They tried to kill Bhīma with snakes and threw him into the river. They put poison in the food and gave it to the five Pāṇḍavas. However much was done, even then they ate it, saying, “An offering to Kṛṣṇa.” That is unwavering Bhakti. That is one-pointed Bhakti. That itself is the Bhakti that reaches its goal. That itself is parā-bhakti. Because they lived with that kind of Bhakti, the Pāṇḍavas' influence has stood as an example even in the Kali Age.
Bhakti without a second. In hardship or in loss, in blame or in reproach, for everything, it is our Kṛṣṇa alone. That itself is true Śaraṇāgati. For the one who has made that Śaraṇāgati, He Himself takes care of everything. “Swāmī, make my life blessed”: they went on asking this. That alone was the crown they needed. Today we take so much gold to the goldsmith, give it to him, and say only, “A chain must be made; it must be in this kind of model.” Taking its weight. But if we say, “My gold must not be put in the fire, must not be struck with the hammer, must not be broken, must not be cut into pieces,” then how will the ornament ever be made? Just put it in his hands. Tell him what design to make; when you take it back, see that the weight is as much as you gave. Beyond that, you have no right to step into the rest. Then he takes your gold and makes the chain. In the same way, when the Pāṇḍavas asked Him to set the crown called Śānti on their heads, that was all: what He would do, how He would do it, let Him do whatever He likes.
In the time of the peace talks, Kṛṣṇa went to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. The Lord of the universe, the One who is Lord of the worlds, went, poor fellow, as an ambassador. What was the reason? “These are My supreme devotees; for My devotees I will do anything.” In this conversation Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks: