Vaisampayana said,--"Yudhishthira, having heard these words of Narada,
began to sigh heavily. And, O Bharata, engaged in his thoughts about
the Rajasuya, the king had no peace of mind. Having heard of this glory
of the illustrious monarchs (of old) and being certain about the
acquisition of regions of felicity by performers of sacrifices in
consequence of their sacred deeds, and thinking especially of that
royal sage Harischandra who had performed the great sacrifice king
Yudhishthira desired to make preparations for the Rajasuya sacrifice.
Then worshipping his counsellors and others present at his Sabha, and
worshipped by them in return, he began to discuss with them about that
sacrifice. Having reflected much, that king of kings, that bull amongst
the Kurus, inclined his mind towards making preparations for the
Rajasuya. That prince of wonderful energy and prowess, however,
reflecting upon virtue and righteousness, again set his heart to find
out what would be for the good of all his people. For Yudhishthira,
that foremost of all virtuous men, always kind unto his subjects,
worked for the good of all without making any distinctions. Indeed,
shaking off both anger and arrogance, Yudhishthira always said,--'Give
unto each what is due to each,'--and the only sounds that he could hear
were,--'Blessed be Dharma! Blessed be Dharma!' Yudhishthira conducting
himself thus and giving paternal assurance to everybody, there was none
in the kingdom who entertained any hostile feelings towards him. He
therefore came to be called Ajatasatru (one with no enemy at all). The
king cherished every one as belonging to his family, and Bhima ruled
over all justly. Arjuna, used to employing both his hands with equal
skill, protected the people from (external) enemies. And the wise
Sahadeva administered justice impartially. And Nakula behaved towards
all with humility that was natural to him. Owing to all this, the
kingdom became free from disputes and fear of every kind. And all the
people became attentive to their respective occupations. The rain
became so abundant as to leave no room for desiring more; and the
kingdom grew in prosperity. And in consequence of the virtues of the
king, money-lenders, the articles required for sacrifices,
cattle-rearing, tillage, and traders, all and everything grew in
prosperity. Indeed, during the reign of Yudhishthira who was ever
devoted to truth, there was no extortion, no stringent realisation of
arrears of rent, no fear of disease, of fire, or of death by poisoning
and incantations, in the kingdom. It was never heard at that time that
thieves or cheats or royal favourites ever behaved wrongfully towards
the king or towards one another amongst themselves. Kings conquered on
the six occasions (of war, treaty, &c) were wont to wait upon him in
order to do good unto the monarch and worship him ever, while the
traders of different classes came to pay him the taxes leviable on
their respective occupations. And accordingly during the reign of
Yudhishthira who was ever devoted to virtue, his dominion grew in
prosperity. Indeed, the prosperity of the kingdom was increased not by
these alone but even by persons wedded to voluptuousness and indulging
in all luxuries to their fill. And the king of kings, Yudhishthira,
whose sway extended over all, was possessed of every accomplishment and
bore everything with patience. And, O king, whatever countries the
celebrated and illustrious monarch conquered, the people everywhere,
from Brahmanas to swains, were all more attached to him than to their
own fathers and mothers."
Vaisampayana said,--"King Yudhishthira, then, that foremost of
speakers, summoning together his counsellors and brothers, asked them
repeatedly about the Rajasuya sacrifice. Those ministers in a body,
thus asked by the wise Yudhishthira desirous of performing the
sacrifice, then told him these words of grave import,--'One already in
possession of a kingdom desireth all the attributes of an emperor by
means of that sacrifice which aideth a king in acquiring the attributes
of Varuna. O prince of Kuru race, thy friends think that as thou art
worthy of the attributes of an emperor, the time is even come for thee
for the performance of the Rajasuya sacrifice. The time for the
performance of that sacrifice in which Rishis of austere vows kindle
six fires with mantras of the Sama Veda, is come for thee in
consequence of thy Kshatriya possessions. At the conclusion of the
Rajasuya sacrifice when the performer is installed in the sovereignty
of the empire, he is rewarded with the fruits of all sacrifices
including the Agnihotra. It is for this that he is called the conqueror
of all. Thou art quite able, O strong-armed one, to perform this
sacrifice. All of us are obedient to thee. Soon will you be able, O
great king, to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice. Therefore, O great king,
let thy resolution be taken to perform this sacrifice without further
discussion.' Thus spoke unto the king all his friends and counsellors
separately and jointly. And, O king, Yudhishthira that slayer of all
enemies, having heard these virtuous, bold, agreeable and weighty words
of theirs, accepted them mentally. And having heard those words of his
friends and counsellors, and knowing his own strength also, the king, O
Bharata, repeatedly thought over the matter. After this the intelligent
and virtuous Yudhishthira, wise in counsel, again consulted with his
brothers, with the illustrious Ritwijas about him, with his ministers
and with Dhaumya and Dwaipayana and others."
"Yudhishthira said,--'How may this wish that I entertain of performing
the excellent sacrifice of Rajasuya that is worthy of an emperor, bear
fruit, in consequence of my faith and speech alone.'"
Vaisampayana said,--"O thou of eyes like lotus-petals, thus asked by
the king, they replied at that time unto Yudhishthira the just in these
words,--'Being conversant with the dictates of morality, thou art, O
king, worthy to perform the grand sacrifice of Rajasuya.' After the
Ritwijas and the Rishis had told these words unto the king, his
ministers and brothers highly approved of the speech. The king,
however, possessed of great wisdom, and with mind under complete
control, actuated by the desire of doing good unto the world, again
resolved the matter in his mind, thinking of his own strength and
means, the circumstances of time and place and his income and
expenditure. For he knew that the wise never come to grief owing to
their always acting after full deliberation. Thinking that the
sacrifice should not be commenced, pursuant to his own resolution only,
Yudhishthira, carefully bearing upon his shoulder the weight of affairs
thought of Krishna that persecutor of all sinners as the fittest person
to decide the matter, in as much as he knew him to be the foremost of
all persons, possessed of immeasurable energy, strong-armed, without
birth but born amongst men from Will alone. Reflecting upon his
god-like feats the son of Pandu concluded that there was nothing that
was unknown to him, nothing that he could not achieve, and nothing that
he could not bear, and Yudhishthira, the son of Pritha, having come to
this settled resolution soon sent a messenger unto that master of all
beings, conveying through him blessings and speeches such as one senior
in age might send to one that is younger. And that messenger riding in
a swift car arrived amongst the Yadavas and approached Krishna who was
then residing in Dwaravati. And Achyuta (Krishna) hearing that the son
of Pritha had become desirous of seeing him, desired to see his cousin.
And quickly passing over many regions, being drawn by his own swift
horses, Krishna arrived at Indraprastha, accompanied by Indrasena. And
having arrived at Indraprastha, Janardana approached Yudhisthira
without loss of time. And Yudhisthira received Krishna with
paternal-affection, and Bhima also received him likewise. And Janardana
then went with a cheerful heart to his father's sister (Kunti). And
worshipped then with reverence by the twins, he began to converse
cheerfully with his friend Arjuna who was overjoyed at seeing him. And
after he had rested awhile in a pleasant apartment and had been fully
refreshed, Yudhishthira approached him at his leisure and informed him
all about the Rajasuya sacrifice.
"Yudhishthira said,--'I have wished to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice.
That sacrifice, however, cannot be performed by one's wishing alone to
perform it. Thou knowest, O Krishna, even thing about the means by
which it may be accomplished. He alone can achieve this sacrifice in
whom everything is possible, who is worshipped everywhere and who is
the king of kings. My friends and counsellors approaching me have said
that I should perform that sacrifice. But, O Krishna, in respect of
that matter, thy words shall be my guide. Of counsellers some from
friendship do not notice the difficulties; others from motives of
self-interest say only what is agreeable. Some again regard that which
is beneficial to themselves as worthy of adoption. Men are seen to
counsel thus on matters awaiting decision. But thou, O Krishna, art
above such motives. Thou hast conquered both desire and anger. It
behoveth thee to tell me what is most beneficial to the world.'