Akrura's Mission in Hastinapura

Verse 1 (bhagavata.10.49.1)

श्रीशुक उवाच स गत्वा हास्तिनपुरं पौरवेन्द्रयशोऽङ्कितम् । ददर्श तत्राम्बिकेयं सभीष्मं विदुरं पृथाम् ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca sa gatvā hāstinapuraṁ pauravendra-yaśo-’ṅkitam dadarśa tatrāmbikeyaṁ sa-bhīṣmaṁ viduraṁ pṛthām

Shukadeva said: Akrura went to Hastinapura, that city marked by the glory of the Paurava kings, and there he saw Ambika's son Dhritarashtra, along with Bhishma, Vidura and Pritha.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.10.49.2)

सहपुत्रं च बाह्लीकं भारद्वाजं सगौतमम् । कर्णं सुयोधनं द्रौणिं पाण्डवान् सुहृदोऽपरान् ॥ २ ॥

saha-putraṁ ca bāhlīkaṁ bhāradvājaṁ sa-gautamam karnaṁ suyodhanaṁ drauṇiṁ pāṇḍavān suhṛdo ’parān

He also saw Bahlika together with his son, Bharadvaja along with Gautama, as well as Karna, Suyodhana, Drona's son, the Pandavas, and other well-wishers.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.10.49.3)

यथावदुपसङ्गम्य बन्धुभिर्गान्दिनीसुतः । सम्पृष्टस्तैः सुहृद्वार्तां स्वयं चापृच्छदव्ययम् ॥ ३ ॥

yathāvad upasaṅgamya bandhubhir gāndinī-sutaḥ sampṛṣṭas taiḥ suhṛd-vārtāṁ svayaṁ cāpṛcchad avyayam

Gandini's son Akrura duly greeted all his kinsmen; they in turn asked him for news of their well-wishers, and he himself asked after their unfailing welfare.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.10.49.4)

उवास कतिचिन्मासान् राज्ञो वृत्तविवित्सया । दुष्प्रजस्याल्पसारस्य खलच्छन्दानुवर्तिनः ॥ ४ ॥

uvāsa katicin māsān rājño vṛtta-vivitsayā duṣprajasyālpa-sārasya khala-cchandānuvartinaḥ

He stayed there several months, wishing to learn the true conduct of that king — a man of little substance, burdened with wicked sons, who bent to the whims of scheming advisers.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.10.49.5)

तेज ओजो बलं वीर्यं प्रश्रयादींश्च सद्गुणान् । प्रजानुरागं पार्थेषु न सहद्भिश्चिकीर्षितम् ॥ ५ ॥

teja ojo balaṁ vīryaṁ praśrayādīṁś ca sad-guṇān prajānurāgaṁ pārtheṣu na sahadbhiś cikīṛṣitam

Dhritarashtra's sons could not bear the splendor, vigor, strength, valor, humility and other virtues of Pritha's sons, nor the deep affection the people bore them —

Verse 6 (bhagavata.10.49.6)

कृतं च धार्तराष्ट्रैर्यद् गरदानाद्यपेशलम् । आचख्यौ सर्वमेवास्मै पृथा विदुर एव च ॥ ६ ॥

kṛtaṁ ca dhārtarāṣṭrair yad gara-dānādy apeśalam ācakhyau sarvam evāsmai pṛthā vidura eva ca

— and everything the sons of Dhritarashtra had done, including the shameful attempt to poison the Pandavas, Pritha and Vidura now related to Akrura in full.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.10.49.7)

पृथा तु भ्रातरं प्राप्तमक्रूरमुपसृत्य तम् । उवाच जन्मनिलयं स्मरन्त्यश्रुकलेक्षणा ॥ ७ ॥

pṛthā tu bhrātaraṁ prāptam akrūram upasṛtya tam uvāca janma-nilayaṁ smaranty aśru-kalekṣaṇā

Pritha, taking the chance of her brother Akrura's arrival, went to him privately and, remembering her birthplace, spoke with eyes brimming with tears.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.10.49.8)

अपि स्मरन्ति नः सौम्य पितरौ भ्रातरश्च मे । भगिन्यौ भ्रातृपुत्राश्च जामयः सख्य एव च ॥ ८ ॥

api smaranti naḥ saumya pitarau bhrātaraś ca me bhaginyau bhrātṛ-putrāś ca jāmayaḥ sakhya eva ca

[Queen Kunti said:] Gentle brother, do my parents still remember us, and my brothers, my sisters, my nephews, my sisters-in-law, my girlhood friends?

Verse 9 (bhagavata.10.49.9)

भ्रात्रेयो भगवान् कृष्णः शरण्यो भक्तवत्सलः । पैतृष्वस्रेयान् स्मरति रामश्चाम्बुरुहेक्षणः ॥ ९ ॥

bhrātreyo bhagavān kṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇyo bhakta-vatsalaḥ paitṛ-ṣvasreyān smarati rāmaś cāmburuhekṣaṇaḥ

Does my nephew Bhagavan Krishna, the refuge and loving protector of His devotees, still remember his aunt's sons? And does lotus-eyed Rama remember them too?

Verse 10 (bhagavata.10.49.10)

सपत्नमध्ये शोचन्तीं वृकानां हरिणीमिव । सान्त्वयिष्यति मां वाक्यैः पितृहीनांश्च बालकान् ॥ १० ॥

sapatna-madhye śocantīṁ vṛkānāṁ hariṇīm iva sāntvayiṣyati māṁ vākyaiḥ pitṛ-hīnāṁś ca bālakān

Will they console with their words me, who grieve among my enemies like a doe among wolves, and these fatherless children of mine?

Verse 11 (bhagavata.10.49.11)

कृष्ण कृष्ण महायोगिन् विश्वात्मन् विश्वभावन । प्रपन्नां पाहि गोविन्द शिशुभिश्चावसीदतीम् ॥ ११ ॥

kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa mahā-yogin viśvātman viśva-bhāvana prapannāṁ pāhi govinda śiśubhiś cāvasīdatīm

Krishna, Krishna! O great yogi! O Soul of the universe! O creator of the universe! O Govinda! Protect me, who have surrendered to You, sinking now with my children in sorrow.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.10.49.12)

नान्यत्तव पदाम्भोजात् पश्यामि शरणं नृणाम् । बिभ्यतां मृत्युसंसारादीश्वरस्यापवर्गिकात् ॥ १२ ॥

nānyat tava padāmbhojāt paśyāmi śaraṇaṁ nṛṇām bibhyatāṁ mṛtyu-saṁsārād īsvarasyāpavargikāt

For beings who fear death and the cycle of rebirth, I see no refuge apart from Your lotus feet — for they alone, belonging to the Lord, grant liberation.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.10.49.13)

नमः कृष्णाय शुद्धाय ब्रह्मणे परमात्मने । योगेश्वराय योगाय त्वामहं शरणं गता ॥ १३ ॥

namaḥ kṛṣṇāya śuddhāya brahmaṇe paramātmane yogeśvarāya yogāya tvām ahaṁ śaraṇaṁ gatā

Obeisances to You, Krishna — the pure, the Absolute, the Supreme Soul, the Lord of yoga and yoga itself. I have come to You alone for shelter.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.10.49.14)

श्रीशुक उवाच इत्यनुस्मृत्य स्वजनं कृष्णं च जगदीश्वरम् । प्रारुदद् दुःखिता राजन् भवतां प्रपितामही ॥ १४ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca ity anusmṛtya sva-janaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ ca jagad-īśvaram prārudad duḥkhitā rājan bhavatāṁ prapitāmahī

Shukadeva said: O King, thus remembering her kinsfolk and Krishna, the Lord of the universe, your great-grandmother, grief-stricken, wept aloud.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.10.49.15)

समदुःखसुखोऽक्रूरो विदुरश्च महायशाः । सान्त्वयामासतुः कुन्तीं तत्पुत्रोत्पत्तिहेतुभिः ॥ १५ ॥

sama-duḥkha-sukho ’krūro viduraś ca mahā-yaśāḥ sāntvayām āsatuḥ kuntīṁ tat-putrotpatti-hetubhiḥ

Akrura, who shared equally in Kunti's joy and sorrow, and the illustrious Vidura, consoled her by recounting the extraordinary circumstances of her sons' births.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.10.49.16)

यास्यन् राजानमभ्येत्य विषमं पुत्रलालसम् । अवदत् सुहृदां मध्ये बन्धुभिः सौहृदोदितम् ॥ १६ ॥

yāsyan rājānam abhyetya viṣamaṁ putra-lālasam avadat suhṛdāṁ madhye bandhubhiḥ sauhṛdoditam

Before departing, Akrura approached King Dhritarashtra — grown unjust through his excessive fondness for his own sons — as he sat among his well-wishers, and delivered to him the message his kinsmen Krishna and Balarama had sent out of affection.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.10.49.17)

अक्रूर उवाच भो भो वैचित्रवीर्य त्वं कुरूणां कीर्तिवर्धन । भ्रातर्युपरते पाण्डावधुनासनमास्थितः ॥ १७ ॥

akrūra uvāca bho bho vaicitravīrya tvaṁ kurūṇāṁ kīrti-vardhana bhrātary uparate pāṇḍāv adhunāsanam āsthitaḥ

Akrura said: O son of Vichitravirya, O you who increase the glory of the Kurus — since your brother Pandu has passed away, you now sit upon the royal throne.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.10.49.18)

धर्मेण पालयन्नुर्वीं प्रजाः शीलेन रञ्जयन् । वर्तमानः समः स्वेषु श्रेयः कीर्तिमवाप्स्यसि ॥ १८ ॥

dharmeṇa pālayann urvīṁ prajāḥ śīlena rañjayan vartamānaḥ samaḥ sveṣu śreyaḥ kīrtim avāpsyasi

By protecting the earth righteously, delighting your subjects with your good character, and remaining even-handed toward all your own — Pandu's sons included — you will attain both welfare and lasting fame.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.10.49.19)

अन्यथा त्वाचरँल्लोके गर्हितो यास्यसे तमः । तस्मात् समत्वे वर्तस्व पाण्डवेष्वात्मजेषु च ॥ १९ ॥

anyathā tv ācaraḻ loke garhito yāsyase tamaḥ tasmāt samatve vartasva pāṇḍaveṣv ātmajeṣu ca

But if you act otherwise, you shall be condemned in this world and shall enter darkness thereafter. Therefore hold yourself equal toward the Pandavas and toward your own sons alike.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.10.49.20)

नेह चात्यन्तसंवासः कस्यचित् केनचित् सह । राजन् स्वेनापि देहेन किमु जायात्मजादिभिः ॥ २० ॥

neha cātyanta-saṁvāsaḥ kasyacit kenacit saha rājan svenāpi dehena kim u jāyātmajādibhiḥ

O King, in this world no one has any permanent companionship with anyone — not even with one's own body — what then of one's wife, children, and the rest?

Verse 21 (bhagavata.10.49.21)

एकः प्रसूयते जन्तुरेक एव प्रलीयते । एकोऽनुभुङ्क्ते सुकृतमेक एव च दुष्कृतम् ॥ २१ ॥

ekaḥ prasūyate jantur eka eva pralīyate eko ’nubhuṅkte sukṛtam eka eva ca duṣkṛtam

Every being is born alone, and alone it perishes; alone it reaps the fruit of its good deeds, and alone the fruit of its evil ones.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.10.49.22)

अधर्मोपचितं वित्तं हरन्त्यन्येऽल्पमेधसः । सम्भोजनीयापदेशैर्जलानीव जलौकसः ॥ २२ ॥

adharmopacitaṁ vittaṁ haranty anye ’lpa-medhasaḥ sambhojanīyāpadeśair jalānīva jalaukasaḥ

The wealth a foolish man amasses through unrighteous means is carried off by others, under the guise of being his dear dependents — just as a fish's own offspring drink up the very water that sustains it.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.10.49.23)

पुष्णाति यानधर्मेण स्वबुद्ध्या तमपण्डितम् । तेऽकृतार्थं प्रहिण्वन्ति प्राणा रायः सुतादयः ॥ २३ ॥

puṣṇāti yān adharmeṇa sva-buddhyā tam apaṇḍitam te ’kṛtārthaṁ prahiṇvanti prāṇā rāyaḥ sutādayaḥ

Those very ones he ignorantly nourishes through unrighteous means — his life-breath, his wealth, his children and the rest — abandon him in the end, leaving his purpose unfulfilled.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.10.49.24)

स्वयं किल्बिषमादाय तैस्त्यक्तो नार्थकोविदः । असिद्धार्थो विशत्यन्धं स्वधर्मविमुखस्तमः ॥ २४ ॥

svayaṁ kilbiṣam ādāya tais tyakto nārtha-kovidaḥ asiddhārtho viśaty andhaṁ sva-dharma-vimukhas tamaḥ

Ignorant of life's true purpose, turned away from his own proper duty, he is at last abandoned by those very ones, and, bearing his sin alone, his aims unfulfilled, he enters into blind darkness.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.10.49.25)

तस्माल्लोकमिमं राजन् स्वप्नमायामनोरथम् । वीक्ष्यायम्यात्मनात्मानं समः शान्तो भव प्रभो ॥ २५ ॥

tasmāl lokam imaṁ rājan svapna-māyā-manoratham vīkṣyāyamyātmanātmānaṁ samaḥ śānto bhava prabho

Therefore, O King, seeing this world as a dream, an illusion, a mere fancy of the mind, restrain your own self by your own intelligence, and become, my lord, even-minded and at peace.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.10.49.26)

धृतराष्ट्र उवाच यथा वदति कल्याणीं वाचं दानपते भवान् । तथानया न तृप्यामि मर्त्यः प्राप्य यथामृतम् ॥ २६ ॥

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca yathā vadati kalyāṇīṁ vācaṁ dāna-pate bhavān tathānayā na tṛpyāmi martyaḥ prāpya yathāmṛtam

Dhritarashtra said: O lord of charity, I find no end of satisfaction in these beneficial words of yours — just as a mortal man never tires of tasting nectar.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.10.49.27)

तथापि सूनृता सौम्य हृदि न स्थीयते चले । पुत्रानुरागविषमे विद्युत् सौदामनी यथा ॥ २७ ॥

tathāpi sūnṛtā saumya hṛdi na sthīyate cale putrānurāga-viṣame vidyut saudāmanī yathā

And yet, gentle Akrura, these true and kindly words cannot settle in my restless heart, so uneven has it become with love for my sons — just as lightning never stays fixed within a cloud.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.10.49.28)

ईश्वरस्य विधिं को नु विधुनोत्यन्यथा पुमान् । भूमेर्भारावताराय योऽवतीर्णो यदोः कुले ॥ २८ ॥

īśvarasya vidhiṁ ko nu vidhunoty anyathā pumān bhūmer bhārāvatārāya yo ’vatīrṇo yadoḥ kule

What man, after all, can ever set aside the ordinance of that Lord who has Himself descended into the Yadu dynasty to lift the burden from the earth?

Verse 29 (bhagavata.10.49.29)

यो दुर्विमर्शपथया निजमाययेदं सृष्ट्वा गुणान् विभजते तदनुप्रविष्टः । तस्मै नमो दुरवबोधविहारतन्त्र- संसारचक्रगतये परमेश्वराय ॥ २९ ॥

yo durvimarśa-pathayā nija-māyayedaṁ sṛṣṭvā guṇān vibhajate tad-anupraviṣṭaḥ tasmai namo duravabodha-vihāra-tantra- saṁsāra-cakra-gataye parameśvarāya

To Him who, by the unfathomable path of His own maya, creates this universe and, entering into it Himself, distributes the modes of nature — to that Supreme Lord I bow, whose pastimes are beyond comprehension, and from whom come both the turning of the wheel of birth and death and the way of release from it.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.10.49.30)

श्रीशुक उवाच इत्यभिप्रेत्य नृपतेरभिप्रायं स यादवः । सुहृद्भिः समनुज्ञातः पुनर्यदुपुरीमगात् ॥ ३० ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca ity abhipretya nṛpater abhiprāyaṁ sa yādavaḥ suhṛdbhiḥ samanujñātaḥ punar yadu-purīm agāt

Shukadeva said: Having thus fully grasped the King's true state of mind, Akrura, the Yadava, took leave of his well-wishing kinsmen and returned once more to the city of the Yadus.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.10.49.31)

शशंस रामकृष्णाभ्यां धृतराष्ट्रविचेष्टितम् । पाण्डवान् प्रति कौरव्य यदर्थं प्रेषितः स्वयम् ॥ ३१ ॥

śaśaṁsa rāma-kṛṣṇābhyāṁ dhṛtarāṣṭra-viceṣṭitam pāṇdavān prati kauravya yad-arthaṁ preṣitaḥ svayam

O descendant of Kuru, Akrura reported to Balarama and Krishna all that Dhritarashtra had done concerning the Pandavas — thus fulfilling the very purpose for which he himself had been sent.