(Viduragamana Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'Asked by Dhritarashtra to give his opinion, Bhishma
replied, "O Dhritarashtra, a quarrel with the Pandavas is what I can never
approve of. As thou art to me, so was Pandu without doubt. And the sons of
Gandhari are to me, as those of Kunti. I should protect them as well as I
should thy sons, O Dhritarashtra! And, O king, the Pandavas are as much
near to me as they are to prince Duryodhana or to all the other Kurus.
Under these circumstances a quarrel with them is what I never like.
Concluding a treaty with those heroes, let half the land be given unto
them. This is without doubt, the paternal kingdom of those foremost ones
of the Kuru race. And, O Duryodhana, like thee who lookest upon this
kingdom as thy paternal property, the Pandavas also look upon it as their
paternal possession. If the renowned sons of Pandu obtain not the kingdom,
how can it be thine, or that of any other descendant of the Bharata race?
If thou regardest thyself as one that hath lawfully come into the
possession of the kingdom, I think they also may be regarded to have
lawfully come into the possession of this kingdom before thee. Give them
half the kingdom quietly. This, O tiger among men, is beneficial to all.
If thou actest otherwise, evil will befall us all. Thou too shall be
covered with dishonour. O Duryodhana, strive to maintain thy good name. A
good name is, indeed, the source of one's strength. It hath been said that
one liveth in vain whose reputation hath gone. A man, O Kaurava, doth not
die so long as his fame lasteth. One liveth as long as one's fame endureth,
and dieth when one's fame is gone. Follow thou, O son of Gandhari, the
practice that is worthy of the Kuru race. O thou of mighty arms, imitate
thy own ancestors. We are fortunate that the Pandavas have not perished.
We are fortunate that Kunti liveth. We are fortunate that the wretch
Purochana without being able to accomplish his purpose hath himself
perished. From that time when I heard that the sons of Kuntibhoja's
daughter had been burnt to death, I was, O son of Gandhari, ill able to
meet any living creature. O tiger among men, hearing of the fate that
overtook Kunti, the world doth not regard Purochana so guilty as it
regardeth thee. O king, the escape, therefore, of the sons of Pandu with
life from that conflagration and their re-appearance, do away with thy
evil repute. Know, O thou of Kuru's race, that as long as those heroes
live, the wielder of the thunder himself cannot deprive them of their
ancestral share in the kingdom. The Pandavas are virtuous and united. They
are being wrongly kept out of their equal share in the kingdom. If thou
shouldst act rightly, if thou shouldst do what is agreeable to me, if thou
shouldst seek the welfare of all, then give half the kingdom unto them."'"