SECTION XLVIII
(Dyuta Parva Continued)
Vaisampayana said--"O king, impressed with the
great Rajasuya sacrifice of king Yudhishthira, Sakuni, the son of Suvala,
having learnt before the intentions of Duryodhana, while accompanying him in
the way from the assembly house, and desirous of saying what was agreeable to
him, approached Dhritarashtra endued with great wisdom, and finding the monarch
deprived of his eye seated (in his throne), told him these words,--'Know, O
great king, O bull of the Bharata race, that Duryodhana, having lost colour,
hath become pale and emaciated and depressed and a prey to anxiety. Why dost
thou not, after due enquiry, ascertain the grief that is in the heart of thy
eldest son, the grief that is caused by the foe?'
"Dhritarashtra said,--'Duryodhana, what is
the reason of thy great affliction. O son of the Kuru race? If it is fit for me
to hear it, then tell me the reason. This Sakuni here says that thou hast lost
colour, become pale and emaciated, and a prey to anxiety. I do not know what
can be the reason of the sorrow. This vast wealth of mine is at thy control.
Thy brothers and all our relations never do anything that is disagreeable to
thee. Thou wearest the best apparel and eatest the best food that is prepared
with meat. The best of horse carries thee. What it is, therefore, that hath
made thee pale and emaciated? Costly beds, beautiful damsels, mansions decked
with excellent furniture, and sport of the delightful kind, without doubt these
all wait but at thy command, as in the case of the gods themselves Therefore, O
proud one, why dost thou grieve, O son, as if thou wert destitute.'
"Duryodhana said,--'I eat and dress myself
like a wretch and pass my time all the while a prey to fierce jealousy. He
indeed is a man, who incapable of bearing the pride of the foe, liveth having
vanquished that foe with the desire of liberating his own subjects from the
tyranny of the foe. Contentment, as also pride, O Bharata, are destructive of
prosperity; and those other two qualities also, viz., compassion and fear. One
who acteth under the influence of these, never obtaineth anything high. Having
beheld Yudhishthira's prosperity, whatever I enjoy brings me no gratification.
The prosperity of Kunti's son that is possessed of such splendour maketh me
pale. Knowing the affluence of the foe and my own destitution, even though that
affluence is not before me, I yet see it before me. Therefore, have I lost
colour and become melancholy, pale and emaciated. Yudhishthira supporteth
eighty-eight thousand Snataka Brahmanas leading domestic lives, giving unto
each of them thirty slave-girls. Beside this, thousand other Brahmanas daily
eat at his palace the best of food on golden plates. The king of Kambhoja sent
unto him (as tribute) innumerable skins, black, darkish, and red, of the deer
Kadali, as also numberless blankets of excellent textures. And hundreds and
thousands and thousands of she-elephants and thirty thousand she-camels wander
within the palace, for the kings of the earth brought them all as tribute to
the capital of the Pandavas. And, O lord of earth, the kings also brought unto
this foremost of sacrifices heaps upon heaps of jewels and gems for the son of
Kunti. Never before did I see or hear of such enormous wealth as was brought
unto the sacrifice of the intelligent sons of Pandu. And, O king, beholding
that enormous collection of wealth belonging to the foe, I can not enjoy peace
of mind. Hundreds of Brahmanas supported by the grants that Yudhishthira hath
given them and possessing wealth of kine, waited at the palace gate with three
thousands of millions of tribute but were prevented by the keepers from
entering the mansion. Bringing with them clarified butter in handsome
Kamandalus made of gold, they did not obtain admission into the palace, and
Ocean himself brought unto him in vessels of white copper the nectar that is
generated within his waters and which is much superior to that which flowers
and annual plants produce for Sakra. And Vasudeva (at the conclusion of the
sacrifice) having brought an excellent conch bathed the Sun of Pritha with sea
water brought in thousand jars of gold, all well adorned with numerous gems.
Beholding all this I became feverish with jealousy. Those jars had been taken
to the Eastern and the Southern oceans. And they had also been taken on the
shoulders of men to the Western ocean, O bull among men. And, O father,
although none but birds only can go to the Northern region Arjuna, having gone
thither, exacted as tribute a vast quantity of wealth. There is another
wonderful incident also which I will relate to thee. O listen to me. When a
hundred thousand Brahmanas were fed, it had been arranged that to notify this
act every day conches would be blown in a chorus. But, O Bharata, I continually
heard conches blown there almost repeatedly. And hearing those notes my hair
stood on end. And, O great king, that palatial compound, filled with
innumerable monarchs that came there as spectators, looked exceedingly handsome
like the cloudless firmament with stars. And, O king of men, the monarchs came
into that sacrifice of the wise son of Pandu bringing with them every kind of
wealth. And the kings that came there became like Vaisyas the distributors of
food unto the Brahmanas that were fed. And O king, the prosperity that I beheld
of Yudhishthira was such that neither the chief himself of the celestials, nor
Yama or Varuna, nor the lord of the Guhyakas owneth the same. And beholding
that great prosperity of the son of Pandu, my heart burneth and I cannot enjoy
peace.
"Hearing these words of Duryodhana, Sakuni
replied,--'Hear how thou mayest obtain this unrivalled prosperity that thou
beholdest in the son of Pandu, O thou that hast truth for thy prowess. O
Bharata, I am an adept at dice, superior to all in the world. I can ascertain
the success or otherwise of every throw, and when to stake and when not. I have
special knowledge of the game. The Son of Kunti also is fond of dice playing
though he possesseth little skill in it. Summoned to play or battle, he is sure
to come forward, and I will defeat him repeatedly at every throw by practising
deception. I promise to win all that wealth of his, and thou, O Duryodhana,
shalt then enjoy the same.'"
Vaisampayana continued,--"King Duryodhana,
thus addressed by Sakuni, without allowing a moment to elapse, said unto
Dhritarashtra,--'This, Sakuni, an adept at dice, is ready to win at dice, O
king, the wealth of the sons of Pandu. It behoveth thee to grant him permission
to do so.'
"Dhritarashtra replied,--'I always follow
the counsels of Kshatta, my minister possessed of great wisdom. Having
consulted with him, I will inform thee what my judgment is in respect of this
affair. Endued with great foresight, he will, keeping morality before his eyes,
tell us what is good and what is proper for both parties, and what should be
done in this matter.'
"Duryodhana said,--'If thou consultest with
Kshatta he will make thee desist. And if thou desist, O king, I will certainly
kill myself. And when I am dead, O king, thou wilt become happy with Vidura.
Thou wilt then enjoy the whole earth; what need hast thou with me?'"
Vaisampayana continued,--"Dhritarashtra,
hearing these words of affliction uttered by Duryodhana from mixed feeling,
himself ready to what Duryodhana had dictated, commanded his servant,
saying,--'Let artificers be employed to erect without delay a delightful and
handsome and spacious palace with an hundred doors and a thousand columns. And
having brought carpenters and joiners, set ye jewels and precious stones all
over the walls. And making it handsome and easy of access, report to me when
everything is complete. And, O monarch, king Dhritarashtra having made this
resolution for the pacification of Duryodhana, sent messengers unto Vidura for
summoning him. For without taking counsel with Vidura never did the monarch
form any resolution. But as regards the matter at hand, the king although he
knew the evils of gambling, was yet attracted towards it. The intelligent
Vidura, however, as soon as he heard of it, knew that the arrival of Kali was
at hand. And seeing that the way to destruction was about to open, he quickly
came to Dhritarashtra. And Vidura approaching his illustrious eldest brother
and bowing down unto his feet, said these words:
'O exalted king, I do not approve of this
resolution that thou hast formed. It behave thee, O king, to act in such a way
that no dispute may arise between thy children on account of this gambling
match.'
Dhritarashtra replied,--'O Kshatta, if the gods
be merciful unto us, assuredly no dispute will ever arise amongst my sons.
Therefore, auspicious or otherwise, beneficial or otherwise, let this friendly
challenge at dice proceed. Even this without doubt is what fate hath ordained
for us. And, O son of the Bharata race, when I am near, and Drona and Bhishma
and thou too, nothing evil that even Fate might have ordained is likely to
happen. Therefore, go thou on a car yoking thereto horses endued with the speed
of the wind, so that thou mayest reach Khandavaprastha even today and bring thou
Yudhishthira with thee. And, O Vidura, I tell that even this is my resolution.
Tell me nothing. I regard Fate as supreme which bringeth all this.' Hearing
these words of Dhritarashtra and concluding that his race was doomed, Vidura in
great sorrow went unto Bhishma with great wisdom."
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