Verse 3

In plain words

3. The Voice of the Future "Alas! Is such a wretched end to befall him after all? Is this the fruit of every auspicious merit? Is the essence of righteous conduct to turn into this? The śāstra declares, does it not, that for one who loses his life drowning in water, for one who gives up his life falling from a tree, and for one who leaves his life through a snakebite, there is no blessed destination after death, and that such a death is an untimely one! It also states, does it not, that such persons are born as bhūtas and pretas! What, in the end, is the cause of such a wretched fate? This is most unjust." So saying, Dharmaja twisted his lips and shook his head, and seeing him sink still more deeply into sorrow, the Brahmins said: "Mahārāja! There is no need for you to grieve so much. Such an evil fate will never come to so great a soul — it will not. In his birth chart, Vajra-yoga and Bhakti-yoga, these two, are both very strong. Therefore, as soon as he hears of the curse, he will give up his kingdom, his wife, his sons and all the rest, sit down on the bank of the Bhāgīrathī, and take refuge in Hari. Not a Curse, but a Boon "At that time Vyāsa's son, the Maharṣi Śuka, will arrive there, and an inquiry into Ātma-jñāna will be undertaken. Listening to the story of Kṛṣṇa and singing Kṛṣṇa's name, he will give up his life on the bank of the Gaṅgā, whose waters are holy. How could an evil fate befall such a one? For him, rebirth

is not possible; through Bhakti-yoga he will merge in Puruṣottama." The moment the Brahmins declared this, Dharmaja cast off his anxiety and, in joy, said, "Blessed, blessed is he! If that is so, this is not a curse but a boon!" Rising in joy, all of them offered the visiting Brahmins fitting honour and courtesies, honoured them with diamonds, cat's-eye gems, gold and yellow silk garments, and saw them off. The Brahmins returned joyfully to their respective homes. Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers went each to his own quarters and passed their days happily, recalling what they had heard. In the birthing chamber the baby grew day by day like the moon of the bright fortnight, waxing and flourishing, and grew up the darling of everyone, within the palace and without. Because he was a child long longed for and born at last, everyone cherished him as dear as their own life, guarding him as the eyelid guards the eye. Draupadī, who had been consumed by grief at losing the Upapāṇḍavas; Subhadrā, who had lost her jewel of a son, a great hero, and was wasting away in ceaseless grief; and Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna and the others, who had been steeped in sorrow, thinking within themselves, "What will become of the child in Uttarā's womb, struck by the power of the astra Aśvatthāmā hurled? Perhaps the Pāṇḍava lineage itself will end right here!" — all of them, on seeing this child, forgot everything, were immersed in an ocean of joy, and passed their time most delightfully, fondly and affectionately playing with him. Parīkṣit: He Who Looks as if Examining Now and then they would have the boy brought to them from the inner apartments and gaze at him to their heart's content, letting their own feelings grow, and in their joy they would forget themselves entirely. The boy, for his part, was very alert, and would look at everyone who looked at him without blinking, as if he were examining them for something. The boy's gaze astonished everyone. Whenever any newcomer came, with a fixed, single-pointed gaze,

he would look at them as though searching for something in them. He would scrutinise them as if examining them. Some said he was searching for his father, Abhimanyu; others said, "No, no — it is Kṛṣṇa, the Paramātma, whom he is searching for, perhaps"; still others said, "No — he is seeing some divine radiance." In this way the boy's gaze seemed to be examining everyone who came. The news spread through the whole city, and the saying "He examines everyone who goes to him" was on every tongue. Even before a name was given him, the household and outsiders alike began calling him "Parīkṣit, Parīkṣit," and in the end that very name became fixed. From scholar to unlettered, from king to farmer, from attendant to lord, he was called "Parīkṣit, Parīkṣit" by all. As the boy's splendour grew in this way day by day, Yudhiṣṭhira chose an auspicious day, summoned the purohita and commanded him to fix a proper auspicious day for the boy's naming ceremony. Then the scholars and astrologers gathered, fixed an auspicious day and set the auspicious muhūrta. They had invitations written and sent to kings, citizens and scholars. The ṛṣis and great souls he invited personally, sending his own retinue to them. Arjuna himself went to Kṛṣṇa, the Paramātma, told Him of this auspicious event, said that for the child it was His blessings that mattered most, and brought Him back at once. By the time Kṛṣṇa, the Paramātma, arrived, the ṛṣis, Brahmins, kings, vassal kings and townsfolk, adorned in all their finery, stood ready at the Pāṇḍavas' gate to welcome Him. Seeing Arjuna's chariot coming in front and Kṛṣṇa's chariot behind, they struck up the auspicious instruments, and cries of "Jaya! Jaya!" rose to touch the sky. Yudhiṣṭhira, near the chariot,

came up to it, embraced Kṛṣṇa, took Him by the hands, led Him inside and requested Him to grace the high seat. The visiting kings, vassal kings, ṛṣis, Brahmins and elders each took their respective places. Sahadeva went to the inner apartments and, laying on a golden platter the boy, adorned with every ornament and shining like the sun, carried him into the midst of the assembly while the svasti-vācana and words of blessing were being recited. Men-servants and maid-servants came in long rows, carrying golden trays with articles for pūjā and fragrant substances. In the screened hall specially set apart for the women, Draupadī, Subhadrā, Rukmiṇī, Uttarā and all the other queens had gathered and were joyfully looking toward the boy. As soon as Sahadeva brought the boy and laid him on a bed of flowers in the festive pavilion, the boy got up and crawled on his knees; however much they tried to restrain him he would not stay still, and he seemed eager to go this way and that. Though Sahadeva tried in many ways, he would not stay still. Yudhiṣṭhira, who was watching this scene, said laughing, with boundless joy, "Sahadeva! Don't stand in his way — let him go; let us see what the boy will do." Then Sahadeva took his hands away and, keeping watch all around so that no mishap might befall the boy, went along wherever the boy went, carefully watching over him. Released, the child, without looking before or behind, as though he had known the way from long ago, crawled straight to the place where Kṛṣṇa was seated, clasped Kṛṣṇa's feet firmly, and, as if asking Him to pick him up,

kept making signs. Seeing this, Kṛṣṇa, the Paramātma, burst out laughing, and with supreme joy lifted the boy up and seated him on His lap. Parīkṣit, One Whose Name Is True to Its Meaning The child seated on Kṛṣṇa's lap did not turn about this way and that like ordinary children; he stayed still, did not tug at this and that, did not blink or play about, but gazed with single-pointed attention at the lotus face of Kṛṣṇa, the Paramātma — and this astonished all the onlookers. Even Kṛṣṇa, the Paramātma, was astonished. Then Kṛṣṇa said to Yudhiṣṭhira, "Bāvā! I did not believe the news I had heard, that this boy was examining everyone who came. I had thought the Brahmins must have made up stories of this kind out of some antics a child happens to do. Now, seeing it, this is a supreme wonder! He is scrutinising even me with an examining eye. I too shall test him a little and see." So saying, Kṛṣṇa, the Paramātma, had all kinds of toys brought to divert the boy's gaze and placed them before him, and Himself hid out of the child's sight and watched. But the boy's gaze was drawn by none of those things; looking with single-pointed gaze only toward the side where Kṛṣṇa had gone, he tried to go that way. When the Paramātma had tested the boy in many ways like this and His efforts finally bore no fruit, He said: "This boy is no ordinary one. He has come through even my test without yielding. Therefore the name Parīkṣit will be true to its meaning for this boy." As soon as Kṛṣṇa, the Paramātma, said this, the scholars pronounced their blessings. The Brahmins recited mantras. The auspicious music rose to touch the sky. The maid-servants sang the Gaurī Kalyāṇam. The ācārya dipped a pendant of the nine gems into honey from a golden bowl and with it, letter by letter, on the boy's tongue

he wrote. In the rice on a golden platter the name "Parīkṣit" was inscribed in Sanskrit letters with golden flowers, and everyone showered akṣintalu on the boy's head with their blessings. In this way Parīkṣit's naming ceremony took place with the greatest splendour. All the women and men who had come were given gifts of honour in a befitting manner and seen off. Inside and outside, people fondly recounted to one another the wonders the boy had done in the festive pavilion set up for the naming ceremony. Some, in great wonder, praised the boy's gaze. Kṛṣṇa Protects Uttarā's Womb Having seen all these things, Yudhiṣṭhira, in utter amazement, went to the quarters where Vyāsa Bhagavān was staying and entreated the revered Vyāsa, saying that he wished to hear what the reason was for the boy's wondrous behaviour, and what good or ill would come of it. In reply the revered Vyāsa said: "Dharmaja! While the boy was in Uttarā's womb, when the astra Aśvatthāmā had hurled approached that boy, the Paramātma entered into the embryo itself and protected him. Ever since that day — asking himself, 'Who is that Being who was with me in the womb that day and destroyed the astra that had come to kill me?' and 'Where in the world is that form with divine radiance I saw in the womb that day?' — he has been gazing without blinking at anyone who bore that radiance. Today, the moment that divine Being, in His own form, appeared before him, he recognised Him and went to His side. This is the secret behind the boy's behaviour." As soon as Vyāsa said this, Yudhiṣṭhira, shedding tears of joy, bowed down in great bliss, saying, "The Paramātma is a treasury of compassion!"

In plain words

4. A Yajña for the Expiation of the Sin of War The naming ceremony of Mahārāja Parīkṣit brought boundless joy to the townsfolk and to those who lived in the inner palace. Not content with that alone, Yudhiṣṭhira arranged an assembly of rejoicing that same evening, invited kings, elders, scholars and those learned in the śāstras to take part in it, and requested Kṛṣṇa, the Paramātma, to grace the presiding seat of the assembly. Vyāsa, Kṛpācārya and other munis also came. Then Dharmaja stood in the midst of the assembly, bowed to Vāsudeva and to Vyāsa, looked upon the kings, the people and the scholars, and said: "By the blessings of all of you, by the grace of those who know the divine, and by the anugraha of Vāsudeva, we were able to slay our enemies. We were able to win back the kingdom we had lost. In the hearts of the Pāṇḍavas, which had been filled with hopelessness and despair, thinking, 'Our lineage has been uprooted here and now,' lamps of hope have been lit. A sprout of the Pāṇḍava line has been born. "Yet though on the one hand all this makes me glad, on the other hand the treachery of having slaughtered my own clan and the sin of having killed kinsmen, friends and others torment me beyond measure. Until some prāyaścitta is performed for this, there will be no peace — neither for me, nor for my kingdom, nor for my lineage. Therefore, whether the elders gathered here, or those of experience, or Vāsudeva

or Vyāsadeva direct as the prāyaścitta for this sin of treachery against my own kin, I will accept it with bowed head, regard it as a great prasāda and carry it out. Be gracious to me!" So Dharmaja asked, with humility and obedience. The Protection of Dharma Is the Kṣatriya's Aim Vāsudeva, smiling gently, said: "Dharmarāja! It is strange that you, of all people — you who know every Dharma and every principle of right conduct — should grieve over this. Do you not know that no sin whatever clings to a Kṣatriya in killing enemies who come fully prepared for war? Whatever happens in fighting those who have taken up weapons and stand on the opposing side, it cannot be sin. To tie on the kaṅkaṇa for the welfare of the land, free of self-interest, and to take up the sword and fight, is a Kṣatriya's innate Dharma. You have fulfilled your Dharma. How can sin enter into karmas done in Dharma? There is not the least justification for your grieving so much. No sins whatever will seize you, encircle you, or torment you. You, who ought to be passing your days so joyfully after performing the naming ceremony of your newborn grandson — it is in no way right that you should give way to such sorrow today. Be comforted." So Kṛṣṇa consoled him. Just then the revered Vyāsa rose and said: "Dharmaja! On the battlefield it is natural that many pātakas and upapātakas are incurred. One must not regard such things as the main consideration. The protection of Dharma is itself the Kṣatriya's aim. A surgeon cuts open with a knife an abscess filled with pus and blood, and relieves the pain. Is it then a sin to cut with the knife? Or is it a sin if the physician, knowing how to relieve the pain, stays idle and does not cut? Just so: when the Kṣatriya, the physician, takes up his instrument, cuts open the boils called wickedness and adharma, swollen with the pus and blood of many injustices, wrongdoings and improprieties, and removes the rot — how can that be sin? You are deluded. Dharmaja! Such a doubt may come to some people, but it should not come to you.

"If perhaps our words do not satisfy you, there is another way, and in it there will be no fault whatever. It is this: it is the practice for some kings, once their wars are over, to perform an Aśvamedha yāga to expiate sin. If you so wish, there will be no objection to your too performing it, regarding it as a śānti-yajña. Dharmaja! Even if you do not perform such a yajña, you are faultless. But since you do not hold that conviction firmly, I am pointing out this way for your satisfaction. Beyond that, the choice is yours." With that, the revered Vyāsa sat down. Prāyaścitta for Slaying Kinsmen, Gurus and Kings Thereupon the ṛṣis, scholars, those learned in the śāstras and those of experience rose from the midst of the assembly and broke into applause: "A priceless counsel has been offered, Vyāsa Bhagavān!" "Auspicious! Auspicious!" they cheered. At this, all the members of the assembly declared, as a sign of their joy, "May Dharmaja be blessed with all that is auspicious!" Then Dharmaja, humbly, with a sorrow that yet expressed his gladness, folded his hands and, shedding tears, said: "Venerable ones! However much you say, I am not satisfied; my mind does not consent. "For ordinary kings who have waged wars, performing a yajña in that way may perhaps accomplish the expiation of their sin. But my sin is not of that kind. I know full well that I have committed a sin such as no king has ever committed; about this there is not the least doubt. My sin is three times greater than the sin other kings have committed. How so? One: the killing of members of my own clan and gotra. Two: offering up as sacrifice the supremely venerable, Bhīṣma, Droṇa and others. Three: the slaying of many thousands of kings who were dharmātmas. The slaying of kin, the slaying of gurus, the slaying of kings. Ah! What a sinner I am! Did not all three of these great sins happen on my account?

I believe no king has ever committed such sins. For this, at the very least three Aśvamedha yāgas must be performed; otherwise there will be no peace for me. The lineage will not be secure, and the governance of the realm will not proceed in due order. Therefore Vāsudeva, Vyāsa Bhagavān, the scholars and all the elders must consent." So saying, he folded his hands and closed his eyes, streams of tears flowing and his lips trembling — and that sight moved the hearts of the people and the hearts of the ṛṣis. It melted the hearts of Vāsudeva and Vyāsadeva. Tears streamed from the eyes of many scholars without their even knowing it; the assembly stood transfixed, and everyone understood how tender an abode Dharmaja's heart was. His brothers — Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva and the rest — along with their elder brother, folded their hands too, bowed their heads, turned toward the president of the assembly and sought His command. Then the members and scholars rose all at once from their places and said, "O Dharma incarnate! We are not ones to refuse your wish; we accept it with bowed heads. We will carry the yajña through to completion in the finest manner. Your peace is our happiness. For your joy we are ready to do anything whatever." Thus, with one voice, the assembly made everyone's consent heard. As soon as he heard this, Dharmaja, saying, "I am blessed, I am blessed!", expressed his gratitude with salutations, went slowly to the place where Kṛṣṇa and Vyāsa were seated, clasped their feet and said: "Madhusūdana! You have heard my plea, have you not? You have seen my anguish, have you not? Stand yourself as the presiding lord of the coming yajña, fulfil my longing, and accomplish the expiation of my sin. Make me blessed — this is not something you can escape." So saying, he laid his head on their feet and bowed.

A Yajña Must Not Be Performed with Others' Wealth Gopāla, His lotus face lit with a gentle smile, took Dharmaja by the shoulders, raised him up and said: "Bāvā! I will fulfil your wish without fail. But you have resolved upon a momentous, mountain-like undertaking without thinking it through beforehand. A yajña is no ordinary matter — and on top of that, you want to perform an Aśvamedha yāga, no less! Dharmarāja! I know full well that you do not have adequate wealth for this. That being so, kings have no other way to obtain wealth except from the people alone — and to perform a yajña with wealth amassed by putting pressure on the people is not good. Well then — could anything be obtained from other kings? If one considers that, they suffered severe losses in the recent war; no one has any wealth. That too is a clearly known matter. Then, if one looks to see whether the Kauravas left anything hoarded behind them — they wrought total destruction in the war and were themselves utterly destroyed. Though you know all these things, you have made ready to perform so great a yāga like one who does not know, sunk so deep in naivety. On what basis you spoke so boldly, I do not know. You have announced it publicly, amid so many elders and scholars. Well, how good it would have been if you had told me your intention beforehand, even in private! Even now it is not too late; think it over and give me an answer. Or else we may at least extend the time and make proper efforts." So Kṛṣṇa reproved him, with earnest concern. Kṛṣṇa! You Are Our All! Dharmaja smiled and said: "Kṛṣṇa! You know that I do not undertake, or even consider, anything in haste, without looking to its basis and without giving it thought. Yet to torment me like this has been a play with you from the very beginning. I have never had any worry about wealth, nor will it ever come to me. When you, my mountain-like God, are with me, such

trifling matters I am not one to flinch at. I am not a fool who keeps the Kalpavṛkṣa in his own backyard and suffers harsh hardships for tubers and roots. You, who are all-powerful — who have guarded us all this time as the eyelid guards the eye, and have kept us in your keeping to this day — is there a single thing impossible for you? "Can pebbles be hard for one who grinds huge mountains into powder? I am not so great a fool, Kṛṣṇa! You are our all. You are our five prāṇas. Whatever you may say, I will not lose heart. My own burden, the burden of the kingdom, the burden of the yajña — all of them I have laid at your feet. You may do whatever you will. Whether to uphold my word or push it aside, I have left to your will. However you do it, it is joy; all is your prasāda!" So saying, he made a full, eight-limbed prostration once more. The Lord who has looked into the heart needs no further pleading, does He! The Paramātma's heart melted. Lifting Dharmaja up, He said, "It was only to test your heart that I questioned you in so many ways — nothing else. Moreover, I had to play this drama wishing to show the people what kind of faith you have in me. You need not worry about anything. I will fulfil your heart's desire. But if you do as I tell you, you can obtain with ease the wealth needed for your yajña. In this way the wealth will come in without oppressing the people or harassing kings." As soon as the Paramātma spoke thus, Dharmaja bowed his head and gave his consent: "Lord! I will carry out your command with bowed head." Wealth Deliberately Abandoned May Rightly Be Taken "Dharmaja! Then listen. Long ago a great king named Marutta performed a magnificent yajña. It may truly be said that no one else has performed such a yajña to this day. Along with the yajña hall itself, the yajña

implements too were all of gold. Why say more — even as dakṣiṇā he gave bricks of gold. He gave golden land and golden cows as dāna. So the Brahmins could not carry all the gold handed over to the ṛtviks as dakṣiṇā; they took as much wealth as they could carry to their homes by various means, and threw away the gold they did not need right there where it lay, and left. Such is wealth deliberately abandoned and left behind. That is to say, the gold is lying right there even today. Therefore, if you send suitable people to have it brought, it will come to us, and you can joyfully complete the yajña you intended." As soon as Kṛṣṇa gave this counsel, Dharmaja said, "Svāmī! That is others' wealth, is it not? What right have we over it? Is not the Brahmins' permission needed?" Kṛṣṇa at once took it up: "The Brahmins who left it abandoned it deliberately. Today they are no more, and their remaining descendants do not know of this matter. It is in the custody of the land. "There is no objection whatever to wealth lying in land that is in no one's possession belonging to the lord of that land. Why is anyone else's permission needed for it? The wealth in the land of your kingdom must belong to you. Therefore have it brought quickly and begin the proceedings of the yajña!" — so He said.

In plain words

5. The Splendour of Dharmaja's Yajña Having received Vāsudeva's command and Vyāsadeva's blessings, Dharmaja sent his brothers, together with a body of troops, on a journey to bring back the wealth the Brahmins had left behind. In accordance with the Lord's command, all of them first performed worship of Īśvara, received its prasāda, and then set out. The heaps of wealth came into view before their eyes — the wealth that Marutta had once given the Brahmins as dakṣiṇā, which they, unable to carry it away, had abandoned, each on one road or another. Gathering it all up and loading it onto camels, elephants, chariots and carts, the sons of Pāṇḍu, with the utmost joy, entered Hastināpura a few days later. The people of the city were filled with the utmost wonder at this victorious expedition, and extolled the prowess of the sons of Pāṇḍu. They gave the princes, who had entered with their heaps of wealth, a warm welcome and acclaimed them with cheers. They leapt about for joy. Each picturing to themselves, as it occurred to them, the splendours of the yajña that was to take place, they were aquiver with eagerness and sang songs of their own imagining. From that day onward, on the bank of the Gaṅgā, they cleared a tract of land many miles in extent for the yajña. They levelled it, leaving no rises or hollows.

They had a sacrificial hall built. They constructed ornate pavilions, set up platforms, and supplied decorations. The Marks of the Highest Yajña From every side the people, the Brahmins and the ṛṣis came in swarms like anthills, jostling one another. In their own places specially set aside for them they set up their lodgings and, counting the minutes — "When, oh when shall we see and experience the great sacrifice that is to take place from daybreak?" — they passed the time in this way until dawn broke. As soon as the appointed auspicious hour drew near, the Brahmins and the senior ṛṣis, fully ready to take up the dīkṣā, rose and stood in the assembly pavilion and, looking at Dharmarāja and at Vāsudeva, said: "O King! We have heard that you have resolved to perform three Aśvamedha sacrifices. Is that true? If so, have you resolved to perform all three separately, or to make all the rites threefold and perform them as a single one? Tell us as you see fit, and we shall appoint the ṛtviks accordingly," they asked. To that Dharmaja replied: "O Brahmins! O great ṛṣis! However you yourselves decide it should be done for it to become an excellent yajña, I shall be very well satisfied. In this, Vāsudeva's consent is paramount for all" — and, saying so, he turned and looked toward Kṛṣṇa. Vāsudeva entrusted this responsibility to the Brahmins themselves. Thereupon the Brahmins deliberated among themselves and finally came to a decision in this manner: namely, that in this very rite every procedure be performed threefold, each mantra recited three times, and that if dakṣiṇā were given three times over in abundance to the ṛtviks who had come, the fruit of having performed three Aśvamedha sacrifices would be obtained; and they declared that they had all agreed to this.

Kṛṣṇa Himself Conducts Dharmaja's Yajña Vāsudeva, having heard this advice, nodded that it was very good; and Dharmaja, expressing his own satisfaction too, requested that the yajña be begun. With the Brahmins' Vedic mantras, it seemed as though earth and sky were shaking. Having performed all the rites that had to be done, they released the sacrificial horse. Decked with every adornment and ornament and bearing on its forehead the plate inscribed with the stipulations, it went around the entire earth and returned. When He who is the very embodiment of the yajña Himself assumed presidency over the yajña, how resplendent that yajña was needs no separate telling. They brought the yajña to completion with the pūrṇāhuti. To the ṛtviks who had come, to the ṛṣis and to the Brahmins they bestowed dakṣiṇās and honours in abundance. They carried out gifts and charities beyond counting. With gifts of cows, of land and of gold, the whole kingdom was steeped in joy. In everyone's mouth the splendours of the yajña were being talked over as beyond description. The public feasts ran without any set break: at all hours, never saying "there is none" to anyone who came, they satisfied them with every kind of dish. The great ṛṣis and experienced Brahmins who saw this declared that it surpassed the yajña Marutta had performed long ago. They rejoiced that there was one thing about it which surpassed everything else — greater, wondrous and holy. It was this: at Marutta's yajña, Indra had stood as the yajamāna, and people had thought that a very great marvel and wonder; but today, at our Dharmaja's yajña, He who is the very embodiment of the yajña took His stand in person in the seat of authority and had it conducted. What holiness could there be beyond this? "Judging by this, one may indeed say that this yajña is greater than the yajña Marutta conducted," they said. The yajña being concluded, everyone went back to his own place.

The kings who had come took leave of Dharmaja and each returned to their own kingdom. Kinsmen and friends stayed on a few days more and then, each as suited his own convenience, set out and departed. Śyāmasundara alone, however, thought to remain for some time longer in Hastināpura itself. At that, the Pāṇḍavas, with the utmost joy, made fitting arrangements, and spent their time in holiness, daily offering service to Gopāla and listening to His good words. After some time had passed in this way, Gopāla set out for Dvārakā, taking Arjuna along with Him. As soon as the Paramātma reached Dvārakā, the citizens of Dvārakā, overflowing with enthusiasm that their own Lord had come back, gave Him a welcome. Beholding Him, a festival for their eyes, they rejoiced to their hearts' content. Vidura's Arrival As time moved on in this way, hearsay reports — from this mouth and that — that Vidura had been wandering in an ascetic's garb in the regions near Hastināpura at last reached Dharmaja's ear. This caused him wonder and joy, and to find out whether the news was true or not he sent some spies and had a search made. Meanwhile the spies reported the news that Vidura was coming to Hastināpura itself. At that news Dharmaja felt uncontainable joy: "Ah! How blessed I am! This holy hour has made new shoots sprout in our hearts, which had fallen into despair in the doubt whether we should ever see Vidura again. Our uncle, who protected us in every way, keeping us as if within his own womb — we have been able to serve him again!" So saying, he made the joyous news known to the inner apartments and to all his brothers. Not content with this, as his joy burst its banks and flowed, he could not keep still: he sent word to the army and to the citizens to make all arrangements to give his uncle a grand welcome.

Hearing this news, the citizens, stirred with joy, gathered at the edge of the town. The king, with his brothers adorned in all their finery, mounted a chariot and came to the town's edge. They decked out the whole of Hastināpura with decorations and green festoons. They made suitable arrangements for women, children and the aged. "Vidura — who looked after the people as dear as his own life, who kept the Pāṇḍavas in his eyes and protected them, who held Dharma as dear as life and dispensed justice after due deliberation, who won renown as Dharma incarnate, and who left Hastināpura so long ago — is today returning to his own place": thinking this news was news heard in a dream, and doubting it — "we will not believe it until we see him ourselves" — old people, though unable to walk, made suitable arrangements for themselves and stood, sticks in hand, watching the roads without blinking; and the sight of these aged ones gave still greater joy. All along the road, on rooftops and on trees, packed tight wherever one looked, the people began to leap about endlessly amid joyful uproar. Meanwhile, seeing Vidura — wearing matted locks, in the garb of an ascetic, approaching Hastināpura on foot some way off — they cried, "That is Vidura!", and cries of "Jaya! Jaya!" rose to the sky. The sons of Pāṇḍu got down from their respective vehicles and went forward on foot to welcome their uncle. The people, however much they were held back, would not stop: they ran up and fell at his feet. The sons of Pāṇḍu welcomed their uncle with tears of joy. No words would come to their lips. They embraced one another and exchanged news of each other's welfare; then, so that it would be convenient for all the people to see him, they seated Vidura on Dharmaja's chariot, and with auspicious music and sweet joy they passed through the royal streets of Hastināpura and reached the royal palace.

Some, on seeing Vidura, stood transfixed like stones. His form and features had changed completely, and through the divine radiance that had arisen in him he appeared like Indra himself. They began to talk over these descriptions, each as it occurred to them. Some shed tears of Prema. The queens in the queens' quarters beheld him from behind the purdah curtains and rejoiced. Vidura, having reached the royal palace, greeted everyone, asking each after their welfare in just the way the occasion required.