SECTION CCV
(Viduragamana Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'Asked by Dhritarashtra
to give his opinion, Bhishma replied, 'O Dhritarashtra, a quarrel with the
Pandavas is what I can never approve of. As thou art to me, so was Pandu
without doubt. And the sons of Gandhari are to me, as those of Kunti. I should
protect them as well as I should thy sons, O Dhritarashtra! And, O king, the
Pandavas are as much near to me as they are to prince Duryodhana or to all the
other Kurus. Under these circumstances a quarrel with them is what I never
like. Concluding a treaty with those heroes, let half the land be given unto
them. This is without doubt, the paternal kingdom of those foremost ones of the
Kuru race. And, O Duryodhana, like thee who lookest upon this kingdom as thy
paternal property, the Pandavas also look upon it as their paternal possession.
If the renowned sons of Pandu obtain not the kingdom, how can it be thine, or
that of any other descendant of the Bharata race? If thou regardest thyself as
one that hath lawfully come into the possession of the kingdom, I think they
also may be regarded to have lawfully come into the possession of this kingdom
before thee. Give them half the kingdom quietly. This, O tiger among men, is
beneficial to all. If thou actest otherwise, evil will befall us all. Thou too
shall be covered with dishonour. O Duryodhana, strive to maintain thy good
name. A good name is, indeed, the source of one's strength. It hath been said
that one liveth in vain whose reputation hath gone. A man, O Kaurava, doth not
die so long as his fame lasteth. One liveth as long as one's fame endureth, and
dieth when one's fame is gone. Follow thou, O son of Gandhari, the practice
that is worthy of the Kuru race. O thou of mighty arms, imitate thy own
ancestors. We are fortunate that the Pandavas have not perished. We are
fortunate that Kunti liveth. We are fortunate that the wretch Purochana without
being able to accomplish his purpose hath himself perished. From that time when
I heard that the sons of Kuntibhoja's daughter had been burnt to death, I was,
O son of Gandhari, ill able to meet any living creature. O tiger among men,
hearing of the fate that overtook Kunti, the world doth not regard Purochana so
guilty as it regardeth thee. O king, the escape, therefore, of the sons of
Pandu with life from that conflagration and their re-appearance, do away with
thy evil repute. Know, O thou of Kuru's race, that as long as those heroes
live, the wielder of the thunder himself cannot deprive them of their ancestral
share in the kingdom. The Pandavas are virtuous and united. They are being
wrongly kept out of their equal share in the kingdom. If thou shouldst act
rightly, if thou shouldst do what is agreeable to me, if thou shouldst seek the
welfare of all, then give half the kingdom unto them.'"
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