Mahabharata 1.102: dvyadhika śatatamo'dhyāyaḥ

1.102.1

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |
teṣu triṣu kumāreṣu jāteṣu kurujāṅgalam |
kuravo'tha kurukṣetraṃ trayametadavardhata || 1 ||

"Vaisampayana said, 'Upon the birth of those three children, Kurujangala, Kurukshetra, and the Kurus grew in prosperity. The earth began to yield abundant harvest, and the crops also were of good flavour. And the clouds began to pour rain in season and trees became full of fruits and flowers. And the draught cattle were all happy and the birds and other animals rejoiced exceedingly. And the flowers became fragrant and the fruits became sweet; the cities and towns became filled with merchants, artisans, traders and artists of every description. And the people became brave, learned, honest and happy. And there were no robbers then, nor anybody who was sinful. And it seemed that the golden age had come upon every part of the kingdom. And the people devoted to virtuous acts, sacrifices and truth, and regarding one another with love and affection grew in prosperity. And free from pride, wrath and covetousness, they rejoiced in perfectly innocent sports. And the capital of the Kurus, full as the ocean, was a second Amaravati, teeming with hundreds of palaces and mansions, and possessing gates and arches dark as the clouds. And men in great cheerfulness sported constantly on rivers, lakes and tanks, and in fine groves and charming woods. And the southern Kurus, in their virtuous rivalry with their northern kinsmen, walked about in the company of Siddhas and Charanas and Rishis. And all over that delightful country whose prosperity was thus increased by the Kurus, there were no misers and no widowed women. And the wells and lakes were ever full; the groves abounded with trees, and the houses and abodes of Brahmanas were full of wealth and the whole kingdom was full of festivities. And, O king, virtuously ruled by Bhishma, the kingdom was adorned with hundreds of sacrificial stakes. And the wheel of virtue having been set in motion by Bhishma, and the country became so contented that the subjects of other kingdoms, quitting their homes, came to dwell there and increase its population. And the citizens and the people were filled with hope, upon seeing the youthful acts of their illustrious princes. And, O king, in the house of the Kuru chiefs as also of the principal citizens, 'give', [paragraph continues] 'eat' were the only words constantly heard. And Dhritarashtra and Pandu and Vidura of great intelligence were from their birth brought up by Bhishma, as if they were his own sons. And the children, having passed through the usual rites of their order, devoted themselves to vows and study. And they grew up into fine young men skilled in the Vedas and all athletic sports. And they became well-skilled in the practice of bow, in horsemanship, in encounters with mace, sword and shield, in the management of elephants in battle, and in the science of morality. Well-read in history and the Puranas and various branches of learning, and acquainted with the truths of the Vedas and their branches they acquired knowledge, which was versatile and deep. And Pandu, possessed of great prowess, excelled all men in archery while Dhritarashtra excelled all in personal strength, while in the three worlds there was no one equal to Vidura in devotion to virtue and in the knowledge of the dictates of morality. And beholding the restoration of the extinct line of Santanu, the saying became current in all countries that among mothers of heroes, the daughters of the king of Kasi were the first; that among countries Kurujangala was the first; that among virtuous men, Vidura was the first; that among cities Hastinapura was the first. Pandu became king, for Dhritarashtra, owing to the blindness, and Vidura, for his birth by a Sudra woman, did not obtain the kingdom. One day Bhishma, the foremost of those acquainted with the duties of a statesman and dictates of morality, properly addressing Vidura conversant with the truth of religion and virtue, said as follows."

1.102.2

ūrdhvasasyābhavadbhūmiḥ sasyāni phalavanti ca |
yathartuvarṣī parjanyo bahupuṣpaphalā drumāḥ || 2 ||

1.102.3

vāhanāni prahṛṣṭāni muditā mṛgapakṣiṇaḥ |
gandhavanti ca mālyāni rasavanti phalāni ca || 3 ||

1.102.4

vaṇigbhiścāvakīryanta nagarāṇyatha śilpibhiḥ |
śūrāśca kṛtavidyāśca santaśca sukhino'bhavan || 4 ||

1.102.5

nābhavandasyavaḥ kecinnādharmarucayo janāḥ |
pradeśeṣvapi rāṣṭrāṇāṃ kṛtaṃ yugamavartata || 5 ||

1.102.6

dānakriyādharmaśīlā yajñavrataparāyaṇāḥ |
anyonyaprītisaṃyuktā vyavardhanta prajāstadā || 6 ||

1.102.7

mānakrodhavihīnāśca janā lobhavivarjitāḥ |
anyonyamabhyavardhanta dharmottaramavartata || 7 ||

1.102.8

tanmahodadhivatpūrṇaṃ nagaraṃ vai vyarocata |
dvāratoraṇaniryūhairyuktamabhracayopamaiḥ |
prāsādaśatasaṃbādhaṃ mahendrapurasaṃnibham || 8 ||

1.102.9

nadīṣu vanakhaṇḍeṣu vāpīpalvalasānuṣu |
kānaneṣu ca ramyeṣu vijahrurmuditā janāḥ || 9 ||

1.102.10

uttaraiḥ kurubhiḥ sārdhaṃ dakṣiṇāḥ kuravastadā |
vispardhamānā vyacaraṃstathā siddharṣicāraṇaiḥ |
nābhavatkṛpaṇaḥ kaścinnābhavanvidhavāḥ striyaḥ || 10 ||

1.102.11

tasmiñjanapade ramye bahavaḥ kurubhiḥ kṛtāḥ |
kūpārāmasabhāvāpyo brāhmaṇāvasathāstathā |
bhīṣmeṇa śāstrato rājansarvataḥ parirakṣite || 11 ||

1.102.12

babhūva ramaṇīyaśca caityayūpaśatāṅkitaḥ |
sa deśaḥ pararāṣṭrāṇi pratigṛhyābhivardhitaḥ |
bhīṣmeṇa vihitaṃ rāṣṭre dharmacakramavartata || 12 ||

1.102.13

kriyamāṇeṣu kṛtyeṣu kumārāṇāṃ mahātmanām |
paurajānapadāḥ sarve babhūvuḥ satatotsavāḥ || 13 ||

1.102.14

gṛheṣu kurumukhyānāṃ paurāṇāṃ ca narādhipa |
dīyatāṃ bhujyatāṃ ceti vāco'śrūyanta sarvaśaḥ || 14 ||

1.102.15

dhṛtarāṣṭraśca pāṇḍuśca viduraśca mahāmatiḥ |
janmaprabhṛti bhīṣmeṇa putravatparipālitāḥ || 15 ||

1.102.16

saṃskāraiḥ saṃskṛtāste tu vratādhyayanasaṃyutāḥ |
śramavyāyāmakuśalāḥ samapadyanta yauvanam || 16 ||

1.102.17

dhanurvede'śvapṛṣṭhe ca gadāyuddhe'sicarmaṇi |
tathaiva gajaśikṣāyāṃ nītiśāstre ca pāragāḥ || 17 ||

1.102.18

itihāsapurāṇeṣu nānāśikṣāsu cābhibho |
vedavedāṅgatattvajñāḥ sarvatra kṛtaniśramāḥ || 18 ||

1.102.19

pāṇḍurdhanuṣi vikrānto narebhyo'bhyadhiko'bhavat |
atyanyānbalavānāsīddhṛtarāṣṭro mahīpatiḥ || 19 ||

1.102.20

triṣu lokeṣu na tvāsītkaścidvidurasaṃmitaḥ |
dharmanityastato rājandharme ca paramaṃ gataḥ || 20 ||

1.102.21

pranaṣṭaṃ śaṃtanorvaṃśaṃ samīkṣya punaruddhṛtam |
tato nirvacanaṃ loke sarvarāṣṭreṣvavartata || 21 ||

1.102.22

vīrasūnāṃ kāśisute deśānāṃ kurujāṅgalam |
sarvadharmavidāṃ bhīṣmaḥ purāṇāṃ gajasāhvayam || 22 ||

1.102.23

dhṛtarāṣṭrastvacakṣuṣṭvādrājyaṃ na pratyapadyata |
karaṇatvācca viduraḥ pāṇḍurāsīnmahīpatiḥ || 23 ||