UDYOG
PARV MAHABHARAT BOOK 5 CHAPTER 31
Mahabharat
Book 5 Chapter 31 : English
SECTION XXXI
Five villages demanded by Pandavs
"Yudhishthir
said, 'O Sanjay, the righteous and the unrighteous, the young and
the old, the weak and the strong, are all under the control of the
Creator, It is that Supreme Lord who imparteth knowledge to the
child and childishness to the learned, according to his own will.
If Dhritrashtra ask thee about our strength, tell him everything
truly, having cheerfully consulted with everyone here and ascertained
the truth. O son of Gavalgana, repairing unto the Kurus, thou wilt
salute the mighty Dhritrashtra, and touching his feet enquire after
his welfare speaking in our name. And when seated in the midst of
the Kurus, tell him from us.--The sons of Pandu, O king, are living
happily in consequence of thy prowess. It was through thy grace,
O repressor of foes, that those children of tender years had obtained
a kingdom. Having first bestowed a kingdom on them, thou shouldst
not now be indifferent to them, for destruction then would overtake
them! The whole of this kingdom, O Sanjay, is not fit to be owned
by one person.
Tell
him again, from us.--O sire, we wish to live united. Do not suffer
thyself to be vanquished by foes.--Thou shouldst again, O Sanjay,
bending thy head, in my name salute the grandsire of the Bharatas,
Bhishma, the son of Santanu. Having saluted our grandsire, he should
then be told.--By thee, when Santanu's race was about to be extinct,
it was revived. Therefore, O sire, do that according to thy own
judgment by which thy grandsons may all live in amity with one another.
Thou shouldst then address Vidura also, that adviser of the Kurus,
saying.--Counseleth peace, O amiable one, from desire of doing good
unto Yudhishthir.--Thou shouldst address the unforbearing prince
Duryodhana also, when seated in the midst of the Kurus, beseeching
him again and again, saying,--The insults thou hadst offered to
innocent and helpless Draupadi in the midst of the assembly, we
will quietly bear, simply because we have no mind to see the Kurus
slain. The other injuries also, both before and after that, the
sons of Pandu are quietly bearing, although they are possessed of
might to avenge them. All this, indeed, the Kauravas know. O amiable
one, thou hadst even exiled us dressed in deer-skins. We are bearing
that also because we do not want to see the Kurus slain. Dussasana,
in obedience to thee, had dragged Krishna, disregarding Kunti. That
act also will be forgiven by us. But, O chastiser of foes, we must
have our proper share of the kingdom. O bull among men, turn thy
p.
56
coveting
heart from what belongeth to others. Peace then, O king, will be
amongst our gladdened selves. We are desirous of peace; give us
even a single province of the empire. Give us even Kushasthala,
Vrikasthala, Asandi, Varanavat, and for the fifth any other that
thou likest. Even this will end the quarrel. O Suyodhan, give unto
thy five brothers at least five villages,--O Sanjay, O thou of great
wisdom, let there be peace between us and our cousins. Tell him
also,--Let brothers follow brothers, let sires unite with sons.
Let the Panchals mingle with the Kurus in merry laughter. That I
may see the Kurus and the Panchals whole and sound, is what I desire.
O bull of the Bharat race, with, cheerful hearts let us make peace.
O Sanjay, I am equally capable of war and peace. I am prepared to
acquire wealth as well as to earn virtue. I am fit enough for severity
as for softness.'"
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