Vaishampayana said: -
1. All of them having taken their seats and perfect stillness having prevailed among the kings, Krishna who had an excellent set of teeth and had the voice of a drum began to speak.
2. Like the roar of clouds at the close of summer, Madhava, looking on Dhritarashtra, spoke so that the assembly could hear; -
3. “Between the Kurus and Pandavas -there may be peace, O Bharata, without the slaying of heroes (on either side) -to effect this have I come.
4. O king, I have nothing else to say - everything that ought to be known in this world is known to you, O chastiser of foes.
5. O ruler of the earth, this dynasty (of yours) is the best among these of all kings; it is noted for its knowledge of the scriptures as also for its good ways of life, and it is endued with all the virtues.
6. Kindness, pain at the sight of other’s pains, desire to remedy evils and humanity. O Bharata, as also sincerity, forgiveness^ and truth, are specially in the nature of the Kurus.
7. Belonging to this noble family which is such, O king, no one should do what is improper, and especially an improper act is to be deplored when you are the cause of it.
8. You, O best of Kuru race, being the foremost among them, bear the load of the Kurus when they behave, O Sire, deceitfully towards others or to members of their own family, when the deceit is actually done in act or when it is conceived.
9. Those sons of yours, O Kauravya, headed by Duryodhana, are acting impiously setting aside all considerations of morality and earthly good.
10. Those wicked ones, whose self-respect is gone, and whose hearts have been perverted by avarice, (are acting unfairly) towards their own chief friends- O best of men.
11. This exceedingly grave disaster has Its rise among the Kurus and if regarded with indifference, it will destroy the whole earth, O Kauravya.
12. If you desire so, O Bharata, this can be averted; in this instance peace is not hard to secure; such is my opinion, O best of the Bharatas.
13. Peace depends on you, O king and on myself as well, O lord of the universe, O Kauravya, set right your sons and 1 shall set the enemies (Pandavas) right.
14. Your commands, O chief among kings, should be followed by your sons with their followers; and it will conduce exceedingly to their own good to act according to your orders.
15. It will conduce to your good. O king and also to the good of the Pandavas, for you try to establish peace, desirous of ruling as you are.
16. Act for yourself after a consideration of the consequences, O lord of the universe, and let the Bharatas be your allies O lord of men.
17. Protected by the Pandavas, O king, establish morality and earthly good. O lord of men, by every exertion in your power, allies such as they, cannot be secured.
18. The great-souled sons of Pandu protecting you, even Indra with the gods cannot withstand you; how can earthly kings do it?
19-21. Against the side taken up by Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Karna, Vibhingsati, Ashwathama, Vikarna, Somadatta, Vahlika the king of the Sindhus and the lord of the Kolingas, the chief of the Kambojas, Sudakshina, Yudhisthira, Bhimasena, Savyasachi and the twins, and Satyaki of great energy and the great car-warrior Yuyutsu- who is there of such misdirected energy to fight, O you the best among the Bharatas.
22. The lordship over the world and the quality of being invincible by your foes, will you attain. O you slayer of enemies, when united with the Kurus and the Pandavas?
23. The rulers of the earth, of the same position as yourself, O lord of the earth, and kings of better position even will seek to establish peace with you and with one another if you are so united.
24. You will be able to live in happiness being protected on all sides by your sons and grandsons, your fathers and brothers, and friends.
25. Keeping their interests well before you, and treating them well, as in days gone by will you enjoy this entire earth, O lord of the earth.
26. United with these and with all the Pandavas, O Bharata, will you win victories over other enemies; this is all to your own advantage.
27. Territories acquired by them will you enjoy, O chastiser of enemies, if you are allied to your sons, kinsmen and counsellors, O lord of men.
28. In the case of a fight, O great king, you will see a great loss and in loss to both parties what meritorious deed do you see?
29. The Pandavas being killed in battle or your own sons of great strength, describe O great king the feelings that you will experience, O best of the Bharatas.
30. They are heroes who have mastered the use of weapons and all of them are desirous of war -these sons of Pandu and of yourself; save them from a great calamity.
31. You will not see all the Kurus nor all the Pandavas, in the event of a battle, the heroes on both sides being weakened in number and in strength, and car-warriors slain by car-warriors.
32. The kings have assembled here, O best of kings; they will destroy these creatures, being influenced by wrath.
33. Rescue, O king, the world; do not destroy these creatures; yourself regaining your natural disposition all this will end, O delighter of the Kuru race.
34. Coming from noble families, liberal and generous, endued with modesty, honourable, pious they are related to one another by blood, O king. Save them from a grave calamity.
35. These protectors of the earth meet- mg one another in a spirit of peace, and having dined and drank together, let them return to their respective homes
36. With good robes on, with wreaths on and doing courtesies to one another, O best of the Bharata race; and with their wrath and enmity against one another plucked out (from their hearts), O chastiser of your foes.
37. Let the feelings of affection that you had for the Pandavas, return to you at the expiration of this age; and let them be the same to you; act in this way, O best of the Bharata race.
38. As boys they lost their father, and were reared and brought up by you; protect them in a way that would be in accordance with justice as you would do your sons, O best of the Bharata race.
39. By you they ought to be protected and especially when in distress. Let not your sense of virtue and appreciation of worldly good be lost, O best of the Bharata race.
40. The Pandvas, O king, having saluted and propitiated you, have sent you this message. At your command have we with our followers suffered misery.
41. These twelve years have been spent by us in exile in the forest and the thirteenth year have we spent in each other’s company in disguise.
42. Truly believing that our father would not break that pledge of his towards us, did we not break, O sire, our own. The Brahmanas who accompanied us know this.
43. Therefore, do you abide by your pledge, as we have done ours, O best of the Bharata race; having long suffered grave troubles, O king, we desire to get the share of our own kingdom.
44. Knowing the principles of virtue and worldly good, it is your duty to save us; seeing that you are our elder, have we patiently suffered troubles.
45. Therefore, do you act towards us as our father and mother; and treat us, O Bharata, according to the excellent principles that ought to be adopted by an elder.
46. We act towards you in that way (the way in which youngers should be- have towards their elders); you also act to- wards us in the same way (the way in which elders should behave towards their youngers). If we follow the wrong way, then should we be set right by our father.
47. Set us in the proper path and follow yourself the excellent path of virtue.’ And your sons, O best of the Bharata race, have sent this message to this assembly of kings.
48. In an assembly conversant with the rules of virtue, nothing improper should happen (but in one) in which vice prevails over virtue or falsehood over truth.
49. If this happens with the knowledge of the members thereof, they are themselves slain; when virtue, pierced by vice, makes an appeal to aa assembly,
50. And the shaft (of vice) is not taken out, the members thereof are themselves pierced by it. In fact, virtue kills them like a river destroying the trees growing upon its banks.
51. Those, who are adopting a calm attitude and are silently waiting for virtue to assert itself, have said what is righteous, true and just, O best of the Bharata race.
52. What else are you capable of saying to them than giving back their kingdom? Let the protectors of the earth who are assembled in this council, speak.
53. If I am speaking the truth, keeping intact virtue and morality, then liberate these Kshatriyas from the shackles of deaths 0 foremost among men.
54. Be peaceful, O you foremost of the Bharata race and do not give in to anger. Having given back to those Pandavas, their due shares of the ancestral kingdom
55. Enjoy the blessings of life, O chastiser of foes, along with your sons under the attainment of your objects. You know that Yudhisthira follows the course of virtue always
56. As also (you know) his treatment towards yourself and your sons, O ruler of men. He was burnt and he was exiled but again he has come back to your protection.
57. He was exiled to Indraprastha by yourself with your sons and while staying there he brought under his sway all the rulers of the earth.
58. And vet he remained under your protection and never disregarded you; such a man as he, was recently, sought to be robbed by the son of Suvala,
59. Of his kingdom, wealth and coin by means of a great deceit. He, even when he was brought to that condition, namely when Krishna was dragged to the Assembly-Hall,
60. Yudhisthira of immeasurable soul did not swerve from Kshatriya’s duty. I too desire your good and theirs, O Bharata.
61. Do not, O king, destroy these beings of the birth for the sake of vice, and earthly good for the sake of happiness thinking evil to be good and good to be evil for yourself.
62. Restrain your sons, O lord of the universe, who are too much attached to avarice. The sons of Pritha live to serve you and to fight for you, O chastiser d foes; whatever course, O king, appears better, follow, O chastiser of foes.
Vaishampayana said: -
63. All the rulers of the earth, agreeing as they did in their minds with these words, could not venture to say anything there in the presence (of Duryodhana).
Thus ends the ninety-fifth chapter, the speech of Krishna, in the Bhagavat-Yana of the Udyoga Parva.