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The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 5.26.8

Mahābhārata 5.26.8

Language
Sanskrit

5.26.8

svayaṃ rājā viṣamasthaḥ pareṣu sāmasthyamanvicchati tanna sādhu |
yathātmanaḥ paśyati vṛttameva tathā pareṣāmapi so'bhyupaiti || 8 ||

He that is unfortunate doth not enjoy garlands and scents! nor can one that is unfortunate enjoy cool and fragrant unguents! and finally he that is unfortunate weareth not fine clothes. If this were not so, we would never have been driven from the Kurus. Although, however, all this is true, yet none cherished torments of the heart. The king being himself in trouble seeketh protection in the might of others. This is not wise. Let him, however, receive from others the same behaviour that he displays towards them. The man who casteth a burning fire at midday in the season of spring in a forest of dense underwood, hath certainly, when that fire blazeth forth by aid of the wind, to grieve for his lot if he wisheth to escape. O Sanjaya, why doth king Dhritarashtra now bewail, although he hath all this prosperity? It is because he had followed at first the counsels of his wicked son of vicious soul, addicted to crooked ways and confirmed in folly. Duryodhana disregarded the words of Vidura, the best of his well-wishers, as if the latter were hostile to him. King Dhritarashtra, desirous solely of satisfying his sons, would knowingly enter upon an unrighteous course. Indeed, on account of his fondness for his son, he would not pay heed to Vidura, who, out of all the Kurus, is the wisest and best of all his well-wishers, possessing vast learning, clever in speech, and righteous in act.

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

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