“Vaishampaayana said, ‘Upon the birth of those three
children (Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura), Kurujaangala (Kurujaangala is the
country of which Hastinapura is the capital), Kurukshetra, and the Kurus grew in prosperity. The earth began to
yield abundant harvest, and the crops also were of good flavour. The clouds
began to pour rain in season and trees became full of fruits and flowers. The
draught cattle were all happy and the birds and other animals rejoiced
exceedingly. The flowers became fragrant and the fruits became sweet; the
cities and towns became filled with merchants, artisans, traders and artists of
every description. The people became brave, learned, honest and happy. There
were no robbers then, nor anybody who was sinful. It seemed that the golden age
had come upon every part of the kingdom.
“The people devoted to acts of Dharma, yagnas and
truth, and regarding one another with love and affection grew in prosperity. Free
from pride, anger and greed, they rejoiced in perfectly innocent sports. The
capital of the Kurus (Hastinapura), full as the ocean, was a second Amaravati
(Lord Indra’s capital), teeming with
hundreds of palaces and mansions, and possessing gates and arches dark as the
clouds. Men in great cheerfulness sported constantly on rivers, lakes and
tanks, and in fine groves and charming woods. The southern Kurus, in their virtuous
rivalry with their northern kinsmen, walked about in the company of Siddhas, Charanas
and Rishis. All over that delightful country (Kurujangala) whose prosperity was thus increased by the
Kurus, there were no misers and no widowed women.
“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. O king (Janamejaya), ruled by
Bhishma as per Dharma, the kingdom was adorned with hundreds of stakes for
yagna. The wheel of Dharma 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. The citizens and the
people were filled with hope, upon seeing the youthful acts of their
illustrious princes.
“O king (Janamejaya), in the house of the Kuru chiefs as also of
the principal citizens, ‘give’, ‘eat’ were the only words constantly heard. Dhritarashtra,
Pandu and Vidura of great intelligence were from their birth brought up by
Bhishma, as if they were his own sons. The children, having passed through the
usual rites of their varna, devoted themselves to vows (Vrata in Sanskrit) and study. They grew up into fine young
men skilled in the Vedas and all athletic sports. They became well-skilled in
the practice of bow, in horsemanship, in encounters with mace (Gada in
Hindi), sword and shield, in the
management of elephants in battle, and in the science of morality (Neeti
Shastra in Sanskrit). Well-read in
history and the Puranas and various branches of learning, and familiar with the
truths of the Vedas and their branches they acquired knowledge, which was
versatile and deep.
“Pandu, possessed of great capability, 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 Dharma and in
the knowledge of the dictates of morality (Neeti in
Sanskrit). Seeing the restoration of the
extinct line of Shantanu, the saying became current in all countries that among
mothers of heroes, the daughters of the king of Kashi were the first; that
among countries Kurujaangala was the first; that among men of Dharma, 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 Shudra 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 knowledgeable
with the truth of Dharma and virtue, said as follows.”
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