Sanjayayana Parva — The words of Yudhishthira

Sanjaya said After bidding you adieu, O god among men, shall I go awayo lord, O son of Pandu, may it be well with you. Has any objectionable language been uttered by me, in the heat of the moment.

After bidding adieu also to Janardana, Bhimasena, Arjuna, the two sons of Madri, Satyaki and Chekitana, shall I go away. May happiness and prosperity be yours. May the king look upon us with an eye of good will.

Yudhishthira said Perinitted by ourselves, go away 0 Sanjaya, May you fare well. Do not, O learned man, think ill of us. They and ourselves all know you to be a pure-souled man, in the midst of (their) court.

As an enjoy sent (by them) O Sanjaya, you have made yourself dear to us and you are of peaceful speech, well behaved and satisfy every body. You are not ill disposed towards us and through spoken to harshly you are never angry.

You are not a speaker of cutting and rude words, nor of harsh or false words. We are aware that your words are based on the principles of virtue, pregnant with meaning and humane, O Suta.

You are our favorite; Vidura is the only other envoy that can come here. In former days you were often seen by us and you are our friend like Dhananjaya.

Departing from here, O Sanjaya, you should speedily wait on these Brahmanas, who are endued with the practice of pure energy, born in high family and endued with all the virtues.

And those Brahmanas who are devoted to study and devotees living on arms and those who always dwell in the forests. Greeting all these on my behalf, you should enquire the health of these old people and of others as well.

You should also meet the priest of Dhritarashtra and all his preceptors and Ritvijas and ask them about their health O Suta.

And those, who though not of good blood, are aged, spirited, endued with behaviour and strength, who remember and expect us and practise the slightest virtue, according to their means.

Inform them of my good health and enquire of them about theirs, as also those who live in the kingdom carrying on the traders and those who live in the kingdom maintaining it (by filling offices of the state).

Our preceptor Drona, who is well versed in the code of morality and who practised the Brahmacharya life wishing for a knowledge of the Vedas and who made the four Padas (viz., mantra, upachara, prayoga and sanhara) his weapon, should be pleased by you after being duly greeted.

You should also enquire about the health of Ashvathama who is endued with the practice of studying and who has read the Vedas and also again has made the four Pandas his weapon and who is strong as the son of a Gandharva.

Going to the residence of the son of Sharadvata, of mighty prowess and the chief among those who have a knowledge of self, you should again and again greet him on my behalf and touch the feet of Kripa, O Sanjaya, with your hands.

You should also, touching the feet of that chief among the Kurus, Bhishma in whom are centered heroism, humility, devotion, wisdom, good behaviour, great learning, goodness and prowess, submit my proposals to him.

Saluting the aged king too, who sees by the eyes of wisdom, is the leader of the Kurus, of great learning, who waits upon the old and wise, you should tell him that I am without any disease.

You should also enquire, about the health of Suyodhana, the eldest son of Dhritarashtra, who is dull-headed, ignorant wicked and addicted to vice and, by whom, O Sanjaya, all this world is being ruled over.

You should also enquire, about the health of his younger brother Dushasana, who is dullheaded and of the same behavior (as his elder brother) and who is a great bow man and one of the best heroes among the Kurus.

The one who has no other wish except that there should be peace among the Bharata race, the best among the Balhika's, a wise and honest man, should also be saluted by you.

In my opinion Somadatta too should be saluted by you who is endued with many good qualities, wise and merciful and who always subdues his anger towards the Kurus out of affection for them.

The most venerable among the Kurus is the son of Somadatta; he is our brother, 0 Sanjaya and my friend as well. He is a good bowman a car-warrior as well and with his counselor, worthy of the highest respect. You should enquire about his health.

Those others, who are high among the Kurus and young and those who are as sons, grand-sons and brothers to us, should also be asked, O Suta, regarding their health, in terms which you consider suitable for each.

Those kings who have been brought together by the son of Dhritarashtra for fighting with the Pandavas, the Vashati, the Shalvakas, the Kaikeyas, the Ambasthan and the chief among the Trigartas.

Those that have come from the east and the north, from the south and the west and all those heroes that have come from the hilly districts, you should ask O Suta, regarding their welfare; (and specially) those among them that are human and endued with good behaviour.

Of those who ride on elephants and chariots and horses and those who fight on foot, of that assemblage of great and honorable men after informing my welfare, you should ask regarding their health collectively.

In the same way you should enquire about them that are the financial ministers of the king and the door-keepers and those that lead the army and those that calculate the revenue and expenditure and the great men who ever think about the welfare of the kingdom,

You should also enquire about the health of the son of Dhritarashtra by his Vaishya wife, who is the best among the Kurus and one among them, not a fool, of great wisdom and endued with all virtues. By no means is he inclined to fight.

The one who has no rival in the tricks of dice, whose tricks cannot be detected, who plays dice and who can handle the dice cleverly, who is hard to defeat in the game, viz., Chitrasena, should also be asked concerning his health.

The, king of Gandhara, Shakuni, who comes from the hills and who too is unrivaled in the tricks of the dice and who contributes to the honour of the son Dhritarashtra, of false intelligence, should, () Suta, be asked concerning his health.

The heroes, who above from his car, excepts to defeat the sons of Pandu who are hard to vanquish, the one who is without a rival in de-fooling the fools (sons of Dhritarashtra) viz., (Karna) the son of Vaikartana should also be asked concerning his health.

He who is devoted to our interests, who is our preceptor and lord, who is our father, mother and friend, Vidura of immeasurable wisdom and of good foresight, he who is our adviser, should also be asked concerning his health.

The aged ladies and those among them who being endued with good qualities are regarded by us, O Sanjaya, as our mothers,. should be greeted when they are all together.

“O you with living sons, do your sons treat you properly" saying this, O Sanjaya, afterwards tell them that he who has created no enemies is doing well with his sons.

Those who are like our wives, O Sanjaya, should all be asked regarding their health and address them thus-"Are your leading careful lives in your houses, well protected and with fragrant fame and unblamable conduct?

O gentle ladies, is your treatment towards your fathers-in-law gentle and considerate? You should secure for yourself such behaviour as will make your husbands kind towards you."

Going to those who are like our daughtersin-law, endued with good qualities who have been brought there from good families and with issues, tell them that Yudhishthira who is well disposed towards them sends his greetings.

The daughters of your house, O Sanjaya, should be embraced by you and after asking them about their health on my behalf you should thus address them O blessed ones, may your husbands be favorably disposed towards you and may you be favorably disposed towards your husband.

You should also, enquire about the health of these ladies who wear ornaments and good cloths on their person, use perfumery, live without any fear, are made happy and in the enjoyment of comforts and whose looks are mild and speech is low.

The maid-servants and the male servants and the many hunch-backed and lame men who have been sheltered by them too should after being informed of my welfare be asked regarding their health and spoken to in these terms.

Does the son of Dhritarashtra continue the stipend granted you in old and does he allow you comforts. Those persons of defective limbs, idiots and dwarfs whom the humane Dhritarashtra supports and the many blind persons and decrepit ones and those who live by their hands (having no legs) that are there should be first told of my welfare and then asked about theirs.

Do not be sorry for this uncomfortable life; sins must surely have been committed by you in the life before; after destroying my enemies I shall support them with food and clothes and favour my friends.

Ask the king (Duryodhana) if the stipends made by me to Brahmanas are the same (as before); I shall see them properly rewarded and attain to their objects.

And those weak persons who have no body to protect them and those that are vainly striving to earn bread for themselves and also those that are ignorant and imbecile should also be asked, regarding their health on my behalf.

Those also, that have taken refuge with the sons of Dhritarashtra, coming from different directions, should be asked concerning their health.

In the same way all the ambassadors, of the king (Dhritarashtra) who have come there from all directions, should first be asked about their health and afterwards they should be told that I am doing well.

There is not in the world anything equal to the warriors that have been gained by the son of Dhritarashtra on his side. Virtue is even on my side and virtue is my great strength for the destruction of my enemies.

You should, O Sanjaya, make Suyodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra hear these words "The desire which is tormenting your heart, to rule the Kurus without any rival, has no justification for it. We shall do nothing that will not be agreeable to you. Either give me back the city of Indra or fight, you chief hero among the race of Bharata."