Mahabharata VOL I2 - HolyBooks.com

24 MAHABHABATAcompany, amidst woodland scenes. O terror of thine enemies, whatmore need I tell thee, but that where thou and Pritha, and the king,the son of Dharmai and the mighty Bhimasena and the two sons ofMadri are, there am I attracted with exquisite delight. O descendantof Kuru, in these delightful and sacred and heaven-like halls of assembly,a long time hath fleeted away in thy company without my seeingVasudeva, Valadeva and other leaders of the Vrishni race. And now Iam desirous of repairing to the city of Dwaravati. Do thou therefore,O most valorous of men, assent to my departure. When king Yudhishthirawas smitten heavily with affliction, I with Bhishma, have recitedto him many appropriate legends suited to the occasion with a vew ofassuaging his grief, and the pliant and high-minded Yudhishthira, thoughour sovereign and versed in all lore, paid due heed to our words. Thatson of Dharma honours truth, and is grateful and righteous, thereforewill his virtue and good sense and the stability of his power alwaysAnd now, O Arjuna, if it pleases thee, do thou go to that high-endure.minded prince and tell him of my intention to depart from this place.For, O thou of mighty arms, even if death cometh to me, I am unwillingto do anything that may displease him, leaving alone my going to thecity of Dwaravati. O son of Pritha and descendant of Kuru, I now tellthee truly, desiring to do only what is good and agreeable to thee, andthere can be nothing equivocal in it in any way, that the necessity formy staying here no longer exists, because, O Arjuna, that monarch theson of Dhritarashtra hath been slain with his armies and attendants, andthe earth, my friend, with its girdle of seas and its mountains andwoods and forests,and the kingdom of the Kuru king filled with variousgems, have passed under the sway of that wise son of Dharma. And Oforemost prince of Bharata's race, may that virtuous prince administerthe entire kingdom of the earth in righteousness, and with the respectand approbation of numerous high-souled Siddhas, and having hispraises always extolled by the court heralds. Do thou, O chieftain ofKuru's race, accompany me to-day to the presence of the king, the greataggrandiser of the Kuru race, and sound him of my intended return toDwaraka. As Yudhishthira the high-souled king of the Kurus alwayscommands my love and respect, I have, O son of Pritha, placed this mybody and all the wealth that I have in my house, at his disposal. AndO prince Partha (son of Pritha), when this earth has come under thysway and that of the worshipful Yudhishthira of excellent character,there no longer remains any necessity for my staying here except formy affection for thee. And O monarch, when the redoubtable Arjunahad been thus accosted by the noble-hearted Janarddana, he, showingall the honours due to him, sorrowfully replied by merely saying 'beit so.'