Canto Ten - Chapter 49

Śrī Śuka said: Akrūra went to Hastināpura, marked by the fame of the Paurava kings. There he saw Ambikā's son Dhṛtarāṣṭra, together with Bhīṣma, Vidura, and Pṛthā.

He also saw Bāhlīka and his son, Droṇa the son of Bharadvāja with Kṛpa the descendant of Gautama, Karṇa, Duryodhana, Aśvatthāmā, the Pāṇḍavas, and other friends.

Gāndinī's son properly approached his relatives. They asked him for news of their loved ones, and he in turn inquired thoroughly about their welfare.

He remained there for several months, wishing to learn the conduct of the king, who lacked sound judgment and strength of character and followed the desires of his wicked sons.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons could not tolerate the Pāṇḍavas' brilliance, vigor, strength, courage, humility, other virtues, or the people's affection for them, and they plotted against them.

Pṛthā and Vidura told Akrūra everything the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra had treacherously done, including attempting to poison the Pāṇḍavas.

When Pṛthā saw that her brother Akrūra had arrived, she approached him. Remembering the home of her birth, her eyes filled with tears and she spoke.

'Gentle Akrūra, do my parents remember us? Do my brothers and sisters, my nephews, daughters-in-law, and women friends remember me?'

'Does my nephew Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, the shelter of all and affectionate protector of devotees, remember His paternal aunt's sons? Does lotus-eyed Rāma remember us?'

'Will Kṛṣṇa console with His words me, grieving among enemies like a doe surrounded by wolves, and my fatherless children?'

'Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Great master of yoga, Soul and creator of the universe! Govinda, protect me, who have surrendered to You and am sinking in sorrow with my young sons.'

'I see no refuge for people who fear death and material existence other than Your lotus feet, O Lord, for they bestow liberation.'

'Obeisance to Kṛṣṇa, the pure Supreme Reality and Supreme Self, the Lord and embodiment of yoga. I take shelter of You.'

Śrī Śuka said: O King, thus remembering her relatives and Kṛṣṇa, Lord of the universe, your great-grandmother Kuntī wept in anguish.

Akrūra, who remained equal in happiness and distress, and greatly renowned Vidura consoled Kuntī by reminding her of the divine reasons for her sons' births.

Before departing, Akrūra approached the king, who was partial and excessively attached to his sons. In the presence of friends and relatives he delivered this well-meant counsel.

Akrūra said: O son of Vicitravīrya, enhancer of the Kurus' fame, after your brother Pāṇḍu's death you now occupy the throne.

If you protect the earth according to dharma, delight your subjects through noble conduct, and treat your own sons and the Pāṇḍavas impartially, you will attain welfare and fame.

But if you act otherwise, the world will condemn you and you will descend into darkness. Therefore deal equally with the Pāṇḍavas and your own sons.

O King, no one in this world remains forever with anyone else, not even with one's own body. What need, then, to speak of wife, children, and others?

A living being is born alone and dies alone. Alone he experiences the fruit of righteous action, and alone the fruit of sin.

The wealth a foolish person accumulates through adharma is taken by others under the pretext that they must be supported, just as aquatic creatures consume the water around them.

A foolish man maintains relatives through adharma, thinking them his own. Yet his children and others send him away with his aims unfulfilled when his life and riches are exhausted.

Abandoned by them, ignorant of his true welfare, and carrying his sins alone, he fails in his purposes, turns from his own dharma, and enters blind darkness.

Therefore, O King and master, see this world as a dream, illusion, and fantasy. Restrain yourself by your own discernment, remain impartial and peaceful, and master your mind.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: O lord of charity, the auspicious words you speak are just as you say. Yet I can never be satisfied by them, as a mortal who receives nectar cannot be satisfied.

Nevertheless, gentle Akrūra, these pleasing words do not remain within my unsteady heart, which is distorted by attachment to my sons, any more than lightning remains within a cloud.

What person can overturn the Supreme Lord's decree? He has descended into the Yadu dynasty to relieve the earth of her burden.

He creates this universe through His inscrutable māyā, enters it, and distributes the qualities of nature. I bow to that Supreme Lord, whose play is impossible to comprehend and whose power turns the wheel of material existence.

Śrī Śuka said: Understanding the king's true intent, the Yādava took leave of his friends and returned to the city of the Yadus.

O descendant of Kuru, Akrūra reported to Rāma and Kṛṣṇa how Dhṛtarāṣṭra was behaving toward the Pāṇḍavas, the very matter he had been sent to investigate.