The Return of Vidura and the Departure of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Gāndhārī to the Himālayas

This chapter contains fifty-nine verses, out of which the first seven are spoken by Śrī Sūta. The remaining verses have multiple changes of speakers. In the previous chapter, Sūta described the birth of Parīkṣit and the brāhmaṇa astrologers’ predictions regarding his qualities, deeds, and final liberation. The chapter concluded with the account of the three aśvamedha-yajñas performed by Yudhiṣṭhira in worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who stayed for some time in Hastināpura before returning to Dvārakā. Now in this chapter, Sūta relates the story of Vidura’s return to Hastināpura after visiting the holy places.

Vidura did not participate in the Battle of Kurukṣetra but left on pilgrimage after being insulted by Duryodhana. The latter did not appreciate Vidura’s advice to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that he should abandon Duryodhana and instead side with the Pāṇḍavas. After years of travelling to the holy places throughout India, Vidura returned to the royal palace in Hastināpura. The Pāṇḍavas and the other members of the royal family were elated to see him after such a long time and received him with great respect. After Vidura had eaten and rested, Yudhiṣṭhira inquired about his well-being, the places he had visited, and whether he had any news about the Yādavas (verses 1–11).

Sūta reports that Vidura answered all of Yudhiṣṭhira’s questions but did not disclose that the Yādavas had been killed in a fratricidal war and that Kṛṣṇa had already left the earth. Knowing that this news, in particular, would break Yudhiṣṭhira’s heart, he could not bear to divulge it to him. Sūta then summarizes the brief but pleasurable time that Vidura and Yudhiṣṭhira spent together in the palace (verses 12–17).

Then, seizing an opportune moment, Vidura instructed Dhṛtarāṣṭra to abandon his family attachment and retire to the forest before death could overtake him (verses 18–27). Taking Vidura’s advice to heart, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, along with his chaste wife Gāndhārī, secretly disappeared from the palace, accompanied by Vidura. When Yudhiṣṭhira went to pay respect to his elders in the morning and did not find them, he felt exceedingly morose (verses 28–30).

Yudhiṣṭhira inquired from Sañjaya as to their whereabouts, but even he was left in the dark. Yudhiṣṭhira suspected that his uncle and aunt had taken their lives out of grief due to the loss of their 100 sons, for which he felt responsible. He conjectured that they held him responsible for the death of their sons and had some misgivings about how they were treated by him (verses 31–36).

When Yudhiṣṭhira was thus overcome by grief and worry, Nārada appeared there together with the gandharva Tumburu. The king worshiped the sages and then asked if Nārada had any news of his uncle and aunt (verses 37–39). Nārada advised the king not to grieve for anyone because the entire world is subordinate to the will of Īśvara. It is He who unites and separates all beings. Nārada also argued that whether one holds a spiritual or material view of the self, there is no cause for lamentation. Moreover, the body, which is under the control of time, karma, and the guṇas cannot offer protection to others. Yudhiṣṭhira was thus admonished to give up the illusion that the maintenance of his uncle and aunt was somehow dependent on him. In this manner, Nārada advised Yudhiṣṭhira to recognize all these events as Kṛṣṇa Himself in the form of inevitable time (verses 40–49).

After dispelling Yudhiṣṭhira’s grief by such instruction, Nārada went on to describe the actual events concerning Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Gāndhārī. They had taken shelter in a hermitage in the southern Himālayas and were fully absorbed in meditation (verses 50–51). In four verses, Nārada described the aṣṭāṅga-yoga practice undertaken by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, culminating in samādhi (verses 52–55).

Nārada then convinced Yudhiṣṭhira that there was no point in trying to bring them back or even in trying to see them, for in five days, Dhṛtarāṣṭra would give up his material body in a self-generated yogic fire. His wife Gāndhārī would also follow her husband into the fire. Vidura would then leave on pilgrimage after observing the astonishing act of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s liberation. After sharing this news with Yudhiṣṭhira, Nārada left for heaven along with Tumburu, while Yudhiṣṭhira was finally able to abandon his grief (verses 56–59).

All Verses

  1. Verse 1Śrī Sūta said: While on pilgrimage, Vidura learned from Maitreya Muni of the self’s ultimate attainment [Śrī Kṛṣṇa]. By this disclosure of truth, all that he wished to know became immediately realized by him, and being thus established, he returned to Hastināpura.
  2. Verse 2Vidura first posed as many questions as possible to Maitreya regarding karma, yoga, vratas, and so on. [Thereafter, simply by hearing the response to just a few of them,] exclusive bhakti to Govinda became manifest in his being, and thus he desisted from further questioning.
  3. Verse 3-5O brāhmaṇa, seeing their dear relative Vidura now returned, Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Dharma, along with his younger brothers, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Yuyutsu, Sañjaya, Kṛpācārya, Kuntī, Gāndhārī, Draupadī, Subhadrā, Uttarā, Kṛpī, the male relatives of King Pāṇḍu accompanied by their wives and sons, as well as other women, all came forth to meet Vidura by embracing and respectfully greeting him as appropriate, doing so with great delight, as if the vital force had suddenly returned to their bodies.
  4. Verse 6Feeling distressed even now due to the anxiety of their prolonged separation, they shed profuse tears out of love. When Vidura accepted a seat, the king worshiped him.
  5. Verse 7After Vidura had eaten, rested, and was comfortably seated, the king bowed down out of humility and spoke to him in the midst of all their relatives, who were listening attentively.
  6. Verse 8Yudhiṣṭhira inquired: Do you remember us, who grew up under the shade of your wing, since we along with our mother were protected by you from a host of calamities, such as poisoning and fire?
  7. Verse 9By what means of livelihood did you sustain your physical existence while wandering about the globe of the earth? And what sacred pilgrimage sites and major holy cities did you visit on this earth?
  8. Verse 10O mighty one, exalted devotees like you, who are themselves the very embodiment of the sacred places, sanctify the sacred places, because He who wields the mace [Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa] is firmly situated in their hearts.
  9. Verse 11O uncle, are our dear friends and relatives, the Yādavas, whose worshipful deity is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, residing happily in their city? Have you perhaps seen or heard about them?
  10. Verse 12Being thus questioned by Yudhiṣṭhira, Vidura narrated all these topics in order as experienced by him, except for the destruction of the Yadu dynasty.
  11. Verse 13Indeed, a compassionate person, who is unable to see others in distress, does not disclose the unpleasant events that befall humanity of their own accord and that are difficult to bear.
  12. Verse 14Thereafter, being honored like a deva, Vidura remained there happily for some time, bringing joy to all, and to benefit his elder brother Dhṛtarāṣṭra.
  13. Verse 15As long as Yama assumed the condition of being a śūdra [in the form of Vidura] for one hundred years due to the curse [of Māṇḍavya Muni], Aryamā administered punishment to sinners as appropriate.
  14. Verse 16Having obtained the kingdom and witnessed the birth of a grandson [Parīkṣit] who could uphold the family lineage, Yudhiṣṭhira rejoiced in supreme prosperity along with his brothers, who were akin to the Lokapālas, the universal guardians of the directions.
  15. Verse 17Supremely indomitable time imperceptibly overcame those who were attached in this manner to their homes and who were intoxicated due to involvement in family affairs.
  16. Verse 18Having perceived this, Vidura instructed Dhṛtarāṣṭra as follows: O King, you should leave this place immediately. Behold this fear [in the form of death] that is now present.
  17. Verse 19O master, this all-powerful time, which cannot be counteracted by anyone or at any time in this world, has now come for us all.
  18. Verse 20Being overpowered by this very same time [in the form of death], a person is immediately separated even from his own life, which is most dear to him, to say nothing of other things, such as wealth.
  19. Verse 21Your uncle, brothers, friends, and sons have all been killed, the prime of your life has slipped away, and your body is stricken with old age, yet in spite of this, you reside in another’s house.
  20. Verse 22Oh! How exceedingly powerful is the living being’s will to survive, by which craving, you, like a household dog, accept food cast aside by Bhīma!
  21. Verse 23What is the value of a life maintained with food given by those whose house was set on fire, who were administered poison, whose wife was insulted, and whose land and wealth were captured by you?
  22. Verse 24This body of yours, who hanker still to live in spite of your felt sense of pettiness, is dwindling due to old age against your will, like worn out under and outer garments.
  23. Verse 25One who is devoid of attachment, freed from bondage to ego, and who, unknown to others, casts aside this body that is now stripped of its value, is indeed declared to be a person of wisdom.
  24. Verse 26One who, by his own deliberation or by another’s instruction, has developed dispassion in regard to worldly existence, who has realized the Self, and who, having installed Bhagavān Hari in his heart [by meditation], leaves home, is the foremost of human beings.
  25. Verse 27Therefore, with your movements unknown to your relatives, you should leave for the north. Henceforth, in the impending future, time for the most part will steal away the virtues of human beings.
  26. Verse 28Being awakened in this manner by his younger brother Vidura, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the descendant of Ajamīḍha, who, although outwardly blind, had his internal eye of wisdom opened, cut the bonds of affection for his kinsmen by firm intellectual resolve, and set out on the path disclosed by his brother.
  27. Verse 29Gāndhārī, the chaste daughter of King Subala, who was devoted to her husband, followed him as he was leaving for the Himālayas, which are the foremost delight of renunciants, just as a righteous battle is the foremost delight of valiant warriors.
  28. Verse 30After performing his morning prayers to the mitra-devatās and a fire sacrifice, King Yudhiṣṭhira, whose enemy was never born, honored the brāhmaṇas with sesame seeds, cows, land, and gold, and then entered the residence of Dhṛtarāṣṭra to pay respect to his elders. However, he did not see his two uncles [Vidura and Dhṛtarāṣṭra] or his aunt Gāndhārī.
  29. Verse 31Disturbed in mind, Yudhiṣṭhira asked Sañjaya, who was sitting there: O son of Gavalgaṇa, where has our uncle, who is old and bereft of sight, gone?
  30. Verse 32Where has my aunt Gāndhārī gone— she who is full of grief due to the death of her sons? And where has my uncle and well-wisher Vidura gone? Sorrowful because his sons and relatives were killed by me and suspecting ill-treatment from me, whom he regards as mean-minded, has Dhṛtarāṣṭra, along with his wife, jumped into the Gaṅgā River?
  31. Verse 33After the demise of our father Pāṇḍu, our two uncles protected all of us—who were but young children and moreover their own relatives—from various calamities. Where have they gone from here?
  32. Verse 34Śrī Sūta continued: Feeling greatly afflicted out of compassion and from the anxiety born of familial love, and having become emaciated due to the pangs of separation at not seeing his master, Sañjaya could not reply.
  33. Verse 35Wiping his tears with his hands and steadying his mind by his intellect, he replied to Yudhiṣṭhira while recollecting the feet of his master [Dhṛtarāṣṭra].
  34. Verse 36Sañjaya said: O mighty-armed one! O delight of the Kuru dynasty! I do not know the resolve of your two uncles or of Gāndhārī, because like you, I too have been deceived by these great souls.
  35. Verse 37At that moment, the omniscient Nārada arrived there, playing his vīṇā and accompanied by the gandharva Tumburu. On seeing him, Yudhiṣṭhira, along with his younger brothers, stood up to welcome the sage, saluted him respectfully, worshiped him in some measure, and spoke as follows.
  36. Verse 38-39Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O illustrious one, I do not know the ultimate destination of my uncles or where they have gone from here. Nor do I know where my aunt has gone, being pained and sorrowful due to the death of her sons. You alone, O omniscient one, like the captain of a ship, can be our guide to lead us across the boundless ocean of grief.” Thereafter, Bhagavān Nārada, the best of sages, replied.
  37. Verse 40Śrī Nārada said: O King, do not grieve for anyone because this world is subordinate to the will of Īśvara. All these worlds along with their universal guardians reverentially carry out the orders of Him, the Supreme Regulator of all existence [Parameśvara]. It is He indeed who unites living beings and He alone who separates them.
  38. Verse 41Just as many bullocks that are all tied to a single long rope and pierced through their noses by separate smaller cords fastened to the longer one, carry rice and other types of grain for their owners, so too all these worlds along with their universal guardians, being bound by the rope of the Vedic utterances with regard to their respective socio-religious designations, carry offerings to the Supreme Regulator of all existence [Parameśvara].
  39. Verse 42Just as, in this world, the conjunction and disjunction of the implements required for play occur by the will of the player, so too the conjunction and disjunction of human beings transpire by the will of Īśvara.
  40. Verse 43Whether you consider human beings as eternal, or non-eternal, or both, or neither, in all cases, your aunt and uncles are certainly not worthy of the grief that has no other cause than affection born of delusion.
  41. Verse 44Therefore, O King, give up your mental agitation born of ignorance that leads you to question, “But how will my aunt and uncles, unprotected and miserable, survive without me?”
  42. Verse 45This material body constituted of the five elements is under the control of time, karma, and the guṇas of primordial nature. How then can it protect other living beings, any more than a person seized by a python can protect others [who are similarly caught]?
  43. Verse 46Those without hands are food for those who possess hands. Those without feet are food for four-legged animals. Among all such classes of beings, the weak are the sustenance of the strong. [The general principle governing all consumers of food is that] one living being is food for another.
  44. Verse 47Therefore, O King, recognize all this as Him, the self-effulgent Bhagavān, who, although one as the Immanent Self of all living beings, manifests as many by His transrational māyā potency, appearing internally [as the individuated subjects of worldly experience] and externally [as the objects of experience].
  45. Verse 48O King, this same Bhagavān [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], the ground and support of all beings, has now appeared here on earth in the form of all-devouring time (kāla) for the destruction of the enemies of the gods.
  46. Verse 49The work of the gods having been accomplished by Him, He now awaits only the remaining act [the destruction of the Yadu dynasty and His departure for His own abode]. Therefore, as long as Bhagavān remains here on earth, you too should await that moment.
  47. Verse 50Dhṛtarāṣṭra, along with his brother Vidura and his wife Gāndhārī, has gone to a hermitage of sages to the south of the Himālayas.
  48. Verse 51This is the place where that renowned celestial river Gaṅgā has divided herself into seven branches by her seven streams for the pleasure of the seven sages. Consequently, this holy place, known specifically as Saptasrota, is referred to by various names [such as Marīci-Gaṅgā, Atri-Gaṅgā, and so on].
  49. Verse 52Bathing three times a day, offering oblations into the sacred fire according to scriptural regulations, and subsisting on water alone, he is residing in that hermitage with a peaceful mind and devoid of cravings.
  50. Verse 53Having stabilized his posture, regulated his breath and vital force, and withdrawn his six senses from their corresponding objects, he has cast aside the impurities of righteousness (sattva), covetousness (rajas), and indolence (tamas) by constant meditation on Bhagavān Hari [Śrī Kṛṣṇa].
  51. Verse 54After merging his mind and individuated “I”-sense into his intellective faculty and dissolving that enlightened intellect in the witness self, he has merged the pure jīva into Brahman, the substratum of all being, just as the space contained within a pot merges in unlimited space [when divested of its limiting adjunct in the form of the pot].
  52. Verse 55Having destroyed the subsequent effects of the guṇas of māyā, restrained the senses and mind, and desisted from all sense pleasures, Dhṛtarāṣṭra now sits motionless like a pillar.
  53. Verse 56Now that Dhṛtarāṣṭra has abandoned all actions, do not become an obstacle for him. O King, on the fifth day following from today, he indeed will give up his body, which will then be reduced to ashes.
  54. Verse 57When her husband’s body along with the grass hut is consumed by the fire of yoga, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s chaste wife Gāndhārī, standing outside, will enter that fire in pursuance of her husband.
  55. Verse 58O delight of the Kuru dynasty, Vidura on the other hand, seeing this wonder, will be filled with both joy and sorrow. Thereafter, he will leave that place to visit the holy shrines.
  56. Verse 59Thereafter, having spoken thus, sage Nārada along with Tumburu ascended to svarga. Yudhiṣṭhira, taking his words to heart, gave up his grief.