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Mahabharata 5.1.18

Mahābhārata 5.1.18

Language
Sanskrit

5.1.18

bālāstvime tairvividhairupāyaiḥ saṃprārthitā hantumamitrasāhāḥ |
rājyaṃ jihīrṣadbhirasadbhirugraiḥ sarvaṃ ca tadvo viditaṃ yathāvat || 18 ||

But righteously he would accept the rule even of a single village. How the sons of Dhritarashtra fraudulently robbed him of his paternal kingdom, and how he hath passed a life of unendurable hardships, are known to all the kings assembled here. The sons of Dhritarashtra are incapable of overcoming by strength Arjuna, the son of Pritha. Nevertheless, king Yudhishthira and his friends have no other desire than the good of Dhritarashtra's son. These brave sons of Kunti, and the two sons of Madri, ask for only what they themselves, achieving victory in battle, had won from the defeated kings. You, no doubt, know full well how those enemies of the Pandavas--with the object of possessing themselves of the kingdom, endeavoured by various means to destroy them, when they were yet mere boys. So wicked and rancorous they were. Consider, how grasping they are and how virtuous Yudhishthira is. Consider also the relationship that exists between them. I beseech you all to consult together and also think separately. The Pandavas have always had a regard for truth. They have fulfilled their promise to the very letter. If now treated wrongfully by the sons of Dhritarashtra, they would slay them all though banded together. They have friends, who, on being informed of their unworthy treatment at the hands of others, would stand by them, engaged in fight with their persecutors, and willingly slay them even if they should lose their own lives for it.

Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

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