Questions by Vidura

Verse 1 (bhagavata.3.1.1)

श्रीशुक उवाच एवमेतत्पुरा पृष्टो मैत्रेयो भगवान् किल । क्षत्त्रा वनं प्रविष्टेन त्यक्त्वा स्वगृहमृद्धिमत् ॥ 1.1 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca evam etat purā pṛṣṭo maitreyo bhagavān kila kṣattrā vanaṁ praviṣṭena tyaktvā sva-gṛham ṛddhimat

Shri Sukadeva said: This same question was once put, long ago, to the illustrious sage Maitreya by Vidura, who had renounced his own prosperous household and entered the forest.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.3.1.2)

यद्वा अयं मन्त्रकृद्वो भगवानखिलेश्वरः । पौरवेन्द्रगृहं हित्वा प्रविवेशात्मसात्कृतम् ॥ 1.2 ॥

yad vā ayaṁ mantra-kṛd vo bhagavān akhileśvaraḥ pauravendra-gṛhaṁ hitvā praviveśātmasāt kṛtam

Indeed, what more is there to say — Bhagavan Krishna, the Lord of all, acted as your own counselor; He would enter even Duryodhana's palace as though it were His own.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.3.1.3)

राजोवाच कुत्र क्षत्तुर्भगवता मैत्रेयेणास सङ्गमः । कदा वा सह संवाद एतद्वर्णय नः प्रभो ॥ 1.3 ॥

rājovāca kutra kṣattur bhagavatā maitreyeṇāsa saṅgamaḥ kadā vā saha-saṁvāda etad varṇaya naḥ prabho

The King said: O lord, tell me — where and when did the meeting take place between Vidura and the illustrious Maitreya, and when did their conversation occur?

Verse 4 (bhagavata.3.1.4)

न ह्यल्पार्थोदयस्तस्य विदुरस्यामलात्मनः । तस्मिन् वरीयसि प्रश्नः साधुवादोपबृंहितः ॥ 1.4 ॥

na hy alpārthodayas tasya vidurasyāmalātmanaḥ tasmin varīyasi praśnaḥ sādhu-vādopabṛṁhitaḥ

Vidura, being a man of stainless character, could never have raised a question for any trivial purpose; his question to Maitreya must surely have been of the highest importance, worthy of praise among the wise.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.3.1.5)

सूत उवाच स एवमृषिवर्योऽयं पृष्टो राज्ञा परीक्षिता । प्रत्याह तं सुबहुवित्प्रीतात्मा श्रूयतामिति ॥ 1.5 ॥

sūta uvāca sa evam ṛṣi-varyo ’yaṁ pṛṣṭo rājñā parīkṣitā pratyāha taṁ subahu-vit prītātmā śrūyatām iti

Suta said: Thus questioned by King Parikshit, the greatly learned and delighted sage Sukadeva replied to him, saying, 'Please listen.'

Verse 6 (bhagavata.3.1.6)

श्रीशुक उवाच यदा तु राजा स्वसुतानसाधून् पुष्णन्नधर्मेण विनष्टदृष्टिः । भ्रातुर्यविष्ठस्य सुतान् विबन्धून् प्रवेश्य लाक्षाभवने ददाह ॥ 1.6 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca yadā tu rājā sva-sutān asādhūn puṣṇan na dharmeṇa vinaṣṭa-dṛṣṭiḥ bhrātur yaviṣṭhasya sutān vibandhūn praveśya lākṣā-bhavane dadāha

Shri Sukadeva said: When King Dhritarashtra, blinded by devotion to his own dishonest sons and having lost all sense of righteousness, sent the fatherless sons of his younger brother into the house of lac, he had it set aflame.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.3.1.7)

यदा सभायां कुरुदेवदेव्याः केशाभिमर्शं सुतकर्म गर्ह्यम् । न वारयामास नृपः स्नुषायाः स्वास्रैर्हरन्त्याः कुचकुङ्कुमानि ॥ 1.7 ॥

yadā sabhāyāṁ kuru-deva-devyāḥ keśābhimarśaṁ suta-karma garhyam na vārayām āsa nṛpaḥ snuṣāyāḥ svāsrair harantyāḥ kuca-kuṅkumāni

When, in the assembly hall, Duhshasana seized the hair of Draupadi — the wife of the righteous Yudhishthira — in that shameful act, and her tears washed the vermilion from her breast, King Dhritarashtra still did not restrain his son from this abominable deed.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.3.1.8)

द्यूते त्वधर्मेण जितस्य साधोः सत्यावलम्बस्य वनं गतस्य । न याचतोऽदात्समयेन दायं तमोजुषाणो यदजातशत्रोः ॥ 1.8 ॥

dyūte tv adharmeṇa jitasya sādhoḥ satyāvalambasya vanaṁ gatasya na yācato ’dāt samayena dāyaṁ tamo-juṣāṇo yad ajāta-śatroḥ

Yudhishthira, who had no enemy, was defeated by unfair means at the gambling match and, to keep his word, went off to the forest; and when, in due course, he asked for the return of his rightful share, the illusion-bound Dhritarashtra refused even that.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.3.1.9)

यदा च पार्थप्रहितः सभायां जगद्गुरुर्यानि जगाद कृष्णः । न तानि पुंसाममृतायनानि राजोरु मेने क्षतपुण्यलेशः ॥ 1.9 ॥

yadā ca pārtha-prahitaḥ sabhāyāṁ jagad-gurur yāni jagāda kṛṣṇaḥ na tāni puṁsām amṛtāyanāni rājoru mene kṣata-puṇya-leśaḥ

And when Bhagavan Krishna, the teacher of all the worlds, came to the assembly at Arjuna's bidding and spoke words that to other men were nectar itself, King Dhritarashtra — his store of merit all but spent — did not give them the weight they deserved.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.3.1.10)

यदोपहूतो भवनं प्रविष्टो मन्त्राय पृष्टः किल पूर्वजेन । अथाह तन्मन्त्रदृशां वरीयान् यन्मन्त्रिणो वैदुरिकं वदन्ति ॥ 1.10 ॥

yadopahūto bhavanaṁ praviṣṭo mantrāya pṛṣṭaḥ kila pūrvajena athāha tan mantra-dṛśāṁ varīyān yan mantriṇo vaidurikaṁ vadanti

When his elder brother summoned him for counsel, Vidura entered the palace and gave advice so exactly to the point that even today, expert statesmen speak of it with respect as the counsel of Vidura.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.3.1.11)

अजातशत्रोः प्रतियच्छ दायं तितिक्षतो दुर्विषहं तवागः । सहानुजो यत्र वृकोदराहिः श्वसन् रुषा यत्त्वमलं बिभेषि ॥ 1.11 ॥

ajāta-śatroḥ pratiyaccha dāyaṁ titikṣato durviṣahaṁ tavāgaḥ sahānujo yatra vṛkodarāhiḥ śvasan ruṣā yat tvam alaṁ bibheṣi

[Vidura said:] Return now to Yudhishthira, who has no enemy, the rightful share he has so long endured your unbearable wrongs to claim. He waits with his younger brothers, among them Bhima, hissing with anger like an angered serpent — and of him, surely, you are already afraid.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.3.1.12)

पार्थांस्तु देवो भगवान्मुकुन्दो गृहीतवान् सक्षितिदेवदेवः । आस्ते स्वपुर्यां यदुदेवदेवो विनिर्जिताशेषनृदेवदेवः ॥ 1.12 ॥

pārthāṁs tu devo bhagavān mukundo gṛhītavān sakṣiti-deva-devaḥ āste sva-puryāṁ yadu-deva-devo vinirjitāśeṣa-nṛdeva-devaḥ

Bhagavan Mukunda has taken the sons of Pritha as His own, and the brahmanas and gods stand with them; He dwells in His own city amid His family, the Yadus, who have conquered kings beyond number, and of whom He is the Lord.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.3.1.13)

स एष दोषः पुरुषद्विडास्ते गृहान् प्रविष्टो यमपत्यमत्या । पुष्णासि कृष्णाद्विमुखो गतश्री- स्त्यजाश्वशैवं कुलकौशलाय ॥ 1.13 ॥

sa eṣa doṣaḥ puruṣa-dviḍ āste gṛhān praviṣṭo yam apatya-matyā puṣṇāsi kṛṣṇād vimukho gata-śrīs tyajāśv aśaivaṁ kula-kauśalāya

This is offense itself, come to dwell in your house — you nourish him as your own son, yet he is hostile to Krishna. Because you shelter one who turns from the Lord, you are stripped of all good fortune. For the welfare of the whole family, give him up at once!

Verse 14 (bhagavata.3.1.14)

इत्यूचिवांस्तत्र सुयोधनेन प्रवृद्धकोपस्फुरिताधरेण । असत्कृतः सत्स्पृहणीयशीलः क्षत्ता सकर्णानुजसौबलेन ॥ 1.14 ॥

ity ūcivāṁs tatra suyodhanena pravṛddha-kopa-sphuritādhareṇa asat-kṛtaḥ sat-spṛhaṇīya-śīlaḥ kṣattā sakarṇānuja-saubalena

While Vidura, whose conduct was esteemed by the virtuous, was speaking thus, Duryodhana, his lips quivering with rising anger, insulted him — there in the presence of Karna, his younger brothers, and Shakuni.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.3.1.15)

क एनमत्रोपजुहाव जिह्मं दास्याः सुतं यद्बलिनैव पुष्टः । तस्मिन् प्रतीपः परकृत्य आस्ते निर्वास्यतामाशु पुराच्छ्वसानः ॥ 1.15 ॥

ka enam atropajuhāva jihmaṁ dāsyāḥ sutaṁ yad-balinaiva puṣṭaḥ tasmin pratīpaḥ parakṛtya āste nirvāsyatām āśu purāc chvasānaḥ

'Who invited this one here — this crooked son of a maidservant, who grows fat on the very hospitality of those whose enemy's cause he now serves? Throw him out of the palace at once — let him keep only his breath!'

Verse 16 (bhagavata.3.1.16)

स्वयं धनुर्द्वारि निधाय मायां र्भ्रातुः पुरो मर्मसु ताडितोऽपि । स इत्थमत्युल्बणकर्णबाणै- र्गतव्यथोऽयादुरु मानयानः ॥ 1.16 ॥

svayaṁ dhanur dvāri nidhāya māyāṁ bhrātuḥ puro marmasu tāḍito ’pi sa ittham atyulbaṇa-karṇa-bāṇair gata-vyatho ’yād uru mānayānaḥ

Though pierced to the core by Karna's exceedingly harsh arrow-like words in his own brother's presence, Vidura simply set down his bow at the door and left the palace without the least distress, for he regarded such workings of illusion as beyond his concern.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.3.1.17)

स निर्गतः कौरवपुण्यलब्धो गजाह्वयात्तीर्थपदः पदानि । अन्वाक्रमत्पुण्यचिकीर्षयोर्व्यां अधिष्ठितो यानि सहस्रमूर्तिः ॥ 1.17 ॥

sa nirgataḥ kaurava-puṇya-labdho gajāhvayāt tīrtha-padaḥ padāni anvākramat puṇya-cikīrṣayorvyām adhiṣṭhito yāni sahasra-mūrtiḥ

Having thus left Hastinapura — a blessing the Kauravas had earned through their own merit — Vidura set out for the places of pilgrimage, which are the Lord's own feet; desiring still greater merit, he journeyed to where the Lord's thousand forms are enshrined.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.3.1.18)

पुरेषु पुण्योपवनाद्रिकुञ्जे- ष्वपङ्कतोयेषु सरित्सरःसु । अनन्तलिङ्गैः समलङ्कृतेषु चचार तीर्थायतनेष्वनन्यः ॥ 1.18 ॥

pureṣu puṇyopavanādri-kuñjeṣv apaṅka-toyeṣu sarit-saraḥsu ananta-liṅgaiḥ samalaṅkṛteṣu cacāra tīrthāyataneṣv ananyaḥ

He wandered alone, with mind fixed on nothing else, through those holy cities, groves, hill-glades, and rivers and lakes of pure water, all adorned with the countless forms of the boundless Vishnu.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.3.1.19)

गां पर्यटन्मेध्यविविक्तवृत्तिः सदाप्लुतोऽधःशयनोऽवधूतः । अलक्षितः स्वैरवधूतवेषो व्रतानि चेरे हरितोषणानि ॥ 1.19 ॥

gāṁ paryaṭan medhya-vivikta-vṛttiḥ sadāpluto ’dhaḥ śayano ’vadhūtaḥ alakṣitaḥ svair avadhūta-veṣo vratāni cere hari-toṣaṇāni

Wandering the earth in this way, living by pure and independent means, always sanctified by his bathing, sleeping on the bare ground, unrecognized even by his own kinsmen in the guise of a mendicant, he kept only those vows that please Bhagavan Hari.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.3.1.20)

इत्थं व्रजन् भारतमेव वर्षं कालेन यावद्गतवान् प्रभासम् । तावच्छशास क्षितिमेकचक्रा- मेकातपत्रामजितेन पार्थः ॥ 1.20 ॥

itthaṁ vrajan bhāratam eva varṣaṁ kālena yāvad gatavān prabhāsam tāvac chaśāsa kṣitim eka cakrām ekātapatrām ajitena pārthaḥ

Traveling thus through the land of Bharatavarsha, he came in time to Prabhasa; at that time, by the grace of the unconquerable Lord, Yudhishthira ruled the whole earth under a single flag and a single army.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.3.1.21)

तत्राथ शुश्राव सुहृद्विनष्टिं वनं यथा वेणुजवह्निसंश्रयम् । संस्पर्धया दग्धमथानुशोचन् सरस्वतीं प्रत्यगियाय तूष्णीम् ॥ 1.21 ॥

tatrātha śuśrāva suhṛd-vinaṣṭiṁ vanaṁ yathā veṇuja-vahni-saṁśrayam saṁspardhayā dagdham athānuśocan sarasvatīṁ pratyag iyāya tūṣṇīm

There he learned that all his kinsmen had perished, just as a whole forest is consumed by a fire born of bamboo stalks rubbing against one another in their own strife. Grieving over this, he turned in silence toward the west, to where the river Sarasvati flows.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.3.1.22)

तस्यां त्रितस्योशनसो मनोश्च पृथोरथाग्नेरसितस्य वायोः । तीर्थं सुदासस्य गवां गुहस्य यच्छ्राद्धदेवस्य स आसिषेवे ॥ 1.22 ॥

tasyāṁ tritasyośanaso manoś ca pṛthor athāgner asitasya vāyoḥ tīrthaṁ sudāsasya gavāṁ guhasya yac chrāddhadevasya sa āsiṣeve

On the bank of that river he duly visited and worshiped at the eleven sacred fords associated with Trita, Ushana, Manu, Prithu, Agni, Asita, Vayu, Sudasa, Go, Guha, and Shraddhadeva.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.3.1.23)

अन्यानि चेह द्विजदेवदेवैः कृतानि नानायतनानि विष्णोः । प्रत्यङ्गमुख्याङ्कितमन्दिराणि यद्दर्शनात्कृष्णमनुस्मरन्ति ॥ 1.23 ॥

anyāni ceha dvija-deva-devaiḥ kṛtāni nānāyatanāni viṣṇoḥ pratyaṅga-mukhyāṅkita-mandirāṇi yad-darśanāt kṛṣṇam anusmaranti

There too were many other temples of Bhagavan Vishnu in his various forms, established by the great sages and the gods, each marked with His distinctive emblems — temples the mere sight of which brought Krishna to mind.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.3.1.24)

ततस्त्वतिव्रज्य सुराष्ट्रमृद्धं सौवीरमत्स्यान् कुरुजाङ्गलांश्च । कालेन तावद्यमुनामुपेत्य तत्रोद्धवं भागवतं ददर्श ॥ 1.24 ॥

tatas tv ativrajya surāṣṭram ṛddhaṁ sauvīra-matsyān kurujāṅgalāṁś ca kālena tāvad yamunām upetya tatroddhavaṁ bhāgavataṁ dadarśa

From there he passed through the prosperous lands of Surashtra, Sauvira, Matsya, and Kurujangala, and in time reached the bank of the Yamuna, where he came upon Uddhava, the great devotee of the Lord.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.3.1.25)

स वासुदेवानुचरं प्रशान्तं बृहस्पतेः प्राक् तनयं प्रतीतम् । आलिङ्ग्य गाढं प्रणयेन भद्रं स्वानामपृच्छद्भगवत्प्रजानाम् ॥ 1.25 ॥

sa vāsudevānucaraṁ praśāntaṁ bṛhaspateḥ prāk tanayaṁ pratītam āliṅgya gāḍhaṁ praṇayena bhadraṁ svānām apṛcchad bhagavat-prajānām

With deep affection Vidura embraced Uddhava — the constant companion of Bhagavan Vasudeva, a man of gentle and tranquil nature, once a renowned disciple of Brihaspati — and with great love began to ask him for news of the Lord's own family.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.3.1.26)

कच्चित्पुराणौ पुरुषौ स्वनाभ्य- पाद्मानुवृत्त्येह किलावतीर्णौ । आसात उर्व्याः कुशलं विधाय कृतक्षणौ कुशलं शूरगेहे ॥ 1.26 ॥

kaccit purāṇau puruṣau svanābhya- pādmānuvṛttyeha kilāvatīrṇau āsāta urvyāḥ kuśalaṁ vidhāya kṛta-kṣaṇau kuśalaṁ śūra-gehe

Tell me — do those two eternal Persons, who descended upon this earth at the prayer of lotus-born Brahma and who have brought well-being to the whole world, fare well in the household of Shurasena?

Verse 27 (bhagavata.3.1.27)

कच्चित्कुरूणां परमः सुहृन्नो भामः स आस्ते सुखमङ्ग शौरिः । यो वै स्वसृणां पितृवद्ददाति वरान् वदान्यो वरतर्पणेन ॥ 1.27 ॥

kaccit kurūṇāṁ paramaḥ suhṛn no bhāmaḥ sa āste sukham aṅga śauriḥ yo vai svasṝṇāṁ pitṛvad dadāti varān vadānyo vara-tarpaṇena

Does our brother-in-law Vasudeva, the greatest well-wisher of the Kurus, fare happily — he who is a father to his sisters and who, in his generosity, keeps his wives ever content, giving freely of whatever they desire?

Verse 28 (bhagavata.3.1.28)

कच्चिद्वरूथाधिपतिर्यदूनां प्रद्युम्न आस्ते सुखमङ्ग वीरः । यं रुक्मिणी भगवतोऽभिलेभे आराध्य विप्रान् स्मरमादिसर्गे ॥ 1.28 ॥

kaccid varūthādhipatir yadūnāṁ pradyumna āste sukham aṅga vīraḥ yaṁ rukmiṇī bhagavato ’bhilebhe ārādhya viprān smaram ādi-sarge

O friend, does Pradyumna, commander of the Yadu forces, fare well — he who in a former life was Kamadeva, and whom Rukmini received as her son from the Lord after worshiping the brahmanas?

Verse 29 (bhagavata.3.1.29)

कच्चित्सुखं सात्वतवृष्णिभोज- दाशार्हकाणामधिपः स आस्ते । यमभ्यषिञ्चच्छतपत्रनेत्रो नृपासनाशां परिहृत्य दूरात् ॥ 1.29 ॥

kaccit sukhaṁ sātvata-vṛṣṇi-bhoja- dāśārhakāṇām adhipaḥ sa āste yam abhyaṣiñcac chata-patra-netro nṛpāsanāśāṁ parihṛtya dūrāt

Does Ugrasena, the ruler of the Satvatas, Vrishnis, Bhojas, and Dasharhas, fare well — he whom the lotus-eyed Lord reinstated on the throne, even after he had gone far away, abandoning all hope of ever ruling again?

Verse 30 (bhagavata.3.1.30)

कच्चिद्धरेः सौम्य सुतः सदृक्ष आस्तेऽग्रणी रथिनां साधु साम्बः । असूत यं जाम्बवती व्रताढ्या देवं गुहं योऽम्बिकया धृतोऽग्रे ॥ 1.30 ॥

kaccid dhareḥ saumya sutaḥ sadṛkṣa āste ’graṇī rathināṁ sādhu sāmbaḥ asūta yaṁ jāmbavatī vratāḍhyā devaṁ guhaṁ yo ’mbikayā dhṛto ’gre

O gentle one, is Samba doing well — foremost among charioteers, of virtuous conduct, radiant like the very son of the Lord? In an earlier birth he was born as Kartikeya to Ambika, the wife of Shiva, and now he is born to Jambavati, richest in vows among Krishna's queens.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.3.1.31)

क्षेमं स कच्चिद्युयुधान आस्ते यः फाल्गुनाल्लब्धधनूरहस्यः । लेभेऽञ्जसाधोक्षजसेवयैव गतिं तदीयां यतिभिर्दुरापाम् ॥ 1.31 ॥

kṣemaṁ sa kaccid yuyudhāna āste yaḥ phālgunāl labdha-dhanū-rahasyaḥ lebhe ’ñjasādhokṣaja-sevayaiva gatiṁ tadīyāṁ yatibhir durāpām

Does Yuyudhana fare well — he who learned the deepest secrets of archery from Arjuna, and who, simply through service to the Transcendent Lord, attained with ease that destination which even great renunciants find hard to reach?

Verse 32 (bhagavata.3.1.32)

कच्चिद् बुधः स्वस्त्यनमीव आस्ते श्वफल्कपुत्रो भगवत्प्रपन्नः । यः कृष्णपादाङ्कितमार्गपांसु- ष्वचेष्टत प्रेमविभिन्नधैर्यः ॥ 1.32 ॥

kaccid budhaḥ svasty anamīva āste śvaphalka-putro bhagavat-prapannaḥ yaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāṅkita-mārga-pāṁsuṣv aceṣṭata prema-vibhinna-dhairyaḥ

Is the learned Akrura, son of Shvaphalka, wholly surrendered to the Lord, doing well and free from affliction — he who once, overcome by ecstatic love and beyond all self-command, rolled in the dust of the path marked by Krishna's own footprints?

Verse 33 (bhagavata.3.1.33)

कच्चिच्छिवं देवकभोजपुत्र्या विष्णुप्रजाया इव देवमातुः । या वै स्वगर्भेण दधार देवं त्रयी यथा यज्ञवितानमर्थम् ॥ 1.33 ॥

kaccic chivaṁ devaka-bhoja-putryā viṣṇu-prajāyā iva deva-mātuḥ yā vai sva-garbheṇa dadhāra devaṁ trayī yathā yajña-vitānam artham

Just as the threefold Veda is the vessel through which sacrifice unfolds, so did the daughter of Devaka-bhoja bear the Supreme Lord in her own womb, as once did the mother of the gods — is Devaki, then, well?

Verse 34 (bhagavata.3.1.34)

अपिस्विदास्ते भगवान् सुखं वो यः सात्वतां कामदुघोऽनिरुद्धः । यमामनन्ति स्म हि शब्दयोनिं मनोमयं सत्त्वतुरीयतत्त्वम् ॥ 1.34 ॥

apisvid āste bhagavān sukhaṁ vo yaḥ sātvatāṁ kāma-dugho ’niruddhaḥ yam āmananti sma hi śabda-yoniṁ mano-mayaṁ sattva-turīya-tattvam

May I ask whether Bhagavan Aniruddha is happy — He who fulfills every desire of His devotees, and who from ancient times has been known as the source of the Rig Veda, the presiding deity of the mind, and the fourth of the pure transcendental expansions?

Verse 35 (bhagavata.3.1.35)

अपिस्विदन्ये च निजात्मदैव- मनन्यवृत्त्या समनुव्रता ये । हृदीकसत्यात्मजचारुदेष्ण- गदादयः स्वस्ति चरन्ति सौम्य ॥ 1.35 ॥

apisvid anye ca nijātma-daivam ananya-vṛttyā samanuvratā ye hṛdīka-satyātmaja-cārudeṣṇa- gadādayaḥ svasti caranti saumya

O gentle one, are the others also well — Hridika, Charudeshna the son of Satyabhama, Gada, and the rest, who look upon Krishna alone as the very deity of their own self and follow His path without deviation?

Verse 36 (bhagavata.3.1.36)

अपि स्वदोर्भ्यां विजयाच्युताभ्यां धर्मेण धर्मः परिपाति सेतुम् । दुर्योधनोऽतप्यत यत्सभायां साम्राज्यलक्ष्म्या विजयानुवृत्त्या ॥ 1.36 ॥

api sva-dorbhyāṁ vijayācyutābhyāṁ dharmeṇa dharmaḥ paripāti setum duryodhano ’tapyata yat-sabhāyāṁ sāmrājya-lakṣmyā vijayānuvṛttyā

And is Dharmaraja Yudhishthira, protected by the arms of Arjuna and the infallible Krishna as though they were his own, still upholding the bounds of righteousness? It was in his very assembly that Duryodhana once burned with envy, seeing the fortune of empire and Arjuna's devotion attend him.

Verse 37 (bhagavata.3.1.37)

किं वा कृताघेष्वघमत्यमर्षी भीमोऽहिवद्दीर्घतमं व्यमुञ्चत् । यस्याङ्घ्रि पातं रणभूर्न सेहे मार्गं गदायाश्चरतो विचित्रम् ॥ 1.37 ॥

kiṁ vā kṛtāgheṣv agham atyamarṣī bhīmo ’hivad dīrghatamaṁ vyamuñcat yasyāṅghri-pātaṁ raṇa-bhūr na sehe mārgaṁ gadāyāś carato vicitram

And has Bhima, unyielding and fierce as a cobra, finally unleashed upon the guilty that long-cherished wrath of his? The battlefield itself could not bear even the wondrous play of his mace or the fall of his feet.

Verse 38 (bhagavata.3.1.38)

कच्चिद्यशोधा रथयूथपानां गाण्डीवधन्वोपरतारिरास्ते । अलक्षितो यच्छरकूटगूढो मायाकिरातो गिरिशस्तुतोष ॥ 1.38 ॥

kaccid yaśodhā ratha-yūthapānāṁ gāṇḍīva-dhanvoparatārir āste alakṣito yac-chara-kūṭa-gūḍho māyā-kirāto giriśas tutoṣa

Does Arjuna fare well — famed among charioteers, bearer of the Gandiva bow, subduer of his foes — who once, without recognizing Him, covered Lord Shiva with a hail of arrows when He came disguised as a hunter, and thereby won His pleasure?

Verse 39 (bhagavata.3.1.39)

यमावुतस्वित्तनयौ पृथायाः पार्थैर्वृतौ पक्ष्मभिरक्षिणीव । रेमात उद्दाय मृधे स्वरिक्थं परात्सुपर्णाविव वज्रिवक्त्रात् ॥ 1.39 ॥

yamāv utasvit tanayau pṛthāyāḥ pārthair vṛtau pakṣmabhir akṣiṇīva remāta uddāya mṛdhe sva-rikthaṁ parāt suparṇāv iva vajri-vaktrāt

And do Pritha's twin sons fare well — guarded by their brothers as the eye is guarded by its lids — who snatched back their own lost wealth from the enemy in battle, just as Garuda once snatched the nectar from the very mouth of thunder-wielding Indra?

Verse 40 (bhagavata.3.1.40)

अहो पृथापि ध्रियतेऽर्भकार्थे राजर्षिवर्येण विनापि तेन । यस्त्वेकवीरोऽधिरथो विजिग्ये धनुर्द्वितीयः ककुभश्चतस्रः ॥ 1.40 ॥

aho pṛthāpi dhriyate ’rbhakārthe rājarṣi-varyeṇa vināpi tena yas tv eka-vīro ’dhiratho vijigye dhanur dvitīyaḥ kakubhaś catasraḥ

O my lord, does Pritha still live? She lives only for her fatherless children's sake — otherwise it would have been impossible for her to go on without King Pandu, that greatest of royal sages, who alone, with but a second bow to aid him, conquered all four directions.

Verse 41 (bhagavata.3.1.41)

सौम्यानुशोचे तमधःपतन्तं भ्रात्रे परेताय विदुद्रुहे यः । निर्यापितो येन सुहृत्स्वपुर्या अहं स्वपुत्रान् समनुव्रतेन ॥ 1.41 ॥

saumyānuśoce tam adhaḥ-patantaṁ bhrātre paretāya vidudruhe yaḥ niryāpito yena suhṛt sva-puryā ahaṁ sva-putrān samanuvratena

O gentle one, I grieve only for him — Dhritarashtra, who turned against his own departed brother, and who, following the very path his sons had chosen, drove even me, his true well-wisher, from his own house.

Verse 42 (bhagavata.3.1.42)

सोऽहं हरेर्मर्त्यविडम्बनेन दृशो नृणां चालयतो विधातुः । नान्योपलक्ष्यः पदवीं प्रसादा- च्चरामि पश्यन् गतविस्मयोऽत्र ॥ 1.42 ॥

so ’haṁ harer martya-viḍambanena dṛśo nṛṇāṁ cālayato vidhātuḥ nānyopalakṣyaḥ padavīṁ prasādāc carāmi paśyan gata-vismayo ’tra

None of this astonishes me — for the Lord's activities, played out as though He were an ordinary mortal, are meant precisely to bewilder the sight of men. By His grace I have come to know His glory, and so I journey unrecognized, seeing all, yet free from wonder.

Verse 43 (bhagavata.3.1.43)

नूनं नृपाणां त्रिमदोत्पथानां महीं मुहुश्चालयतां चमूभिः । वधात्प्रपन्नार्तिजिहीर्षयेशो- ऽप्युपैक्षताघं भगवान् कुरूणाम् ॥ 1.43 ॥

nūnaṁ nṛpāṇāṁ tri-madotpathānāṁ mahīṁ muhuś cālayatāṁ camūbhiḥ vadhāt prapannārti-jihīrṣayeśo ’py upaikṣatāghaṁ bhagavān kurūṇām

Surely Bhagavan Krishna — though the Lord Himself, and though ever eager to relieve the suffering of the surrendered, and though well able to strike down kings who, corrupted by their threefold pride, repeatedly shake the earth with their armies — chose to overlook the sins of the Kurus.

Verse 44 (bhagavata.3.1.44)

अजस्य जन्मोत्पथनाशनाय कर्माण्यकर्तुर्ग्रहणाय पुंसाम् । नन्वन्यथा कोऽर्हति देहयोगं परो गुणानामुत कर्मतन्त्रम् ॥ 1.44 ॥

ajasya janmotpatha-nāśanāya karmāṇy akartur grahaṇāya puṁsām nanv anyathā ko ’rhati deha-yogaṁ paro guṇānām uta karma-tantram

The unborn Lord takes birth only to destroy those gone astray and to make Himself known to men, for He, the non-doer, has no work of His own to do. Otherwise, why would One transcendent to the modes of nature accept a body at all — let alone submit to the law of action and its fruit?

Verse 45 (bhagavata.3.1.45)

तस्य प्रपन्नाखिललोकपाना- मवस्थितानामनुशासने स्वे । अर्थाय जातस्य यदुष्वजस्य वार्तां सखे कीर्तय तीर्थकीर्तेः ॥ 1.45 ॥

tasya prapannākhila-lokapānām avasthitānām anuśāsane sve arthāya jātasya yaduṣv ajasya vārtāṁ sakhe kīrtaya tīrtha-kīrteḥ

Therefore, my friend, tell me the story of the unborn Lord, who was born in the family of the Yadus for the sake of all the surrendered guardians of the worlds, who stand ever under His own rule — He whose glory is sung in every place of pilgrimage.