Vidura’s Instructions
In the fifteen years that followed the birth of Abhimanyu’s son, Yudhisthira was an ideal king, entirely worthy of the glorious lineage to which he belonged; none of the citizens ever complained, and they all knew great prosperity and serenity. The kingdom of the Pandavas was comparable to that of the great Rama, son of Dasharatha.
Following Vyasa’s advice, Yudhisthira entrusted Parikshit’s education to Kripa, who instructed him perfectly in all sciences.
Everyone was happy now; but not Dhritarastra, whose years had failed to ease the pain of losing his children. And he grew older, and the first serious infirmities began to undermine his physique already tortured by anxiety and sadness.
Returning from a long journey during which he had met the famous sage Maitreya, Vidura visited his brother and was able to see the painful situation in which he lived. So he decided to talk to him openly.
“My dear King, leave this place immediately. Do not delay any longer. Don’t you realize that you have become a slave to fear and anxiety? No one in this material world can avoid being a victim of this mechanism. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the guise of Kala, the Eternal Time, is always close to us and never leaves us. And although anyone can be brought under the yoke of Kala’s influence, sooner or later they will have to give up this life, and everything else: wealth, honor, children, land, home.
Many of those who loved you, including your children, are dead and you yourself have already lived most of your life. And now, as long as you live in a house that is not yours, your body will continue to be tormented by the disability of old age. You have been suffering since your birth from being born blind, and recently you cannot even hear well; you have no memory and your intelligence is disturbed by restlessness. Your body is falling apart, your teeth are falling out, your liver is causing you serious problems, and you are constantly coughing up mucus.
“Alas,” Vidura continued, “To accept living this way how powerful a man’s hopes must be! You don’t realize that you are living like a pet in the Pandavas house and eating the food that Bhima gives you, the exterminator of your children? But you have no need to lead such a degrading existence, living on the alms given to you by those you have tried to kill with fire and poison. You have insulted one of their wives and usurped their kingdom and their riches. Have you forgotten?
“Although you do not want to die, and for this you feel ready to sacrifice any sense of pride, your wretched body will certainly continue to age and deteriorate more and more just like an old dress. The one who goes to an unknown place, far from all and, free from any social obligation, abandons his own material body when it has become useless, he is a sage whose mind remains undisturbed in all circumstances. And he who awakens to reality, understands both on his own and thanks to the help of others, the falseness and misery of this material world and abandoning the home, depending solely and fully on the Personality of God residing in one’s heart, is certainly a first-class man. Please, therefore, without letting your relatives know anything, leave immediately for the north, because, you know, the time is approaching when the qualities of man will be in sharp decline.”
Struck by those harsh yet profoundly true words, Dhritarastra thought for a long time, after which he decided to retire to the forest to face the last years of his life worthily.
When news of the great old man’s departure spread, many court elders including Gandhari, Kunti, Sanjaya and Vidura decided to follow his example.
Yudhisthira felt even more alone, and his sadness intensified.
After a few months Narada brought to court the news that his relatives had achieved perfection in the practices of yoga and achieved the ultimate goal of human existence.
In that period, Yudhisthira was particularly dedicated to the education of his nephew Parikshit.
This is a section of the book “Maha-bharata, Vol. 2”.
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