Source
Texts:
Akrûra's
Mission in Hastinâpura
Text
1-2
S'rî
S'uka said: 'He [Akrûra] going to
Hastinâpura, the city standing out with the glory of the
kings of the Pûru-dynasty [see family-tree],
saw there the
son of Ambikâ [Dhritarâshthra,
see 9.22:
25]
together with Bhîshma, Vidura and Prithâ
[Kuntî], as also Bâhlika and his son
[Somadatta], Dronâcârya and
Kripâcârya, Karna, Duryodhana, the son of Drona
[As'vatthâmâ], the Pândavas and other
friends.
S'ukadeva
Gosvâmî said: Akrûra went to
Hastinâpura, the city distinguished by the glory of
the Paurava rulers. There he saw Dhritarâshthra,
Bhîshma, Vidura and Kuntî, along with
Bâhlika and his son Somadatta. He also saw
Dronâcârya, Kripâcârya, Karna,
Duryodhana, As'vatthâmâ, the Pândavas and
other close friends. (Vedabase)
Text
3
After
the son of Gândinî [Akrûra, see
9.24:
15]
appropriately had greeted his relatives and friends inquired
they with him for news about their kin and asked he on his turn
how they were faring.
After
Akrûra, the son of Gândinî, had
appropriately greeted all his relatives and friends, they
asked him for news of their family members, and he in turn
asked about their welfare. (Vedabase)
Text
4
He stayed there
a couple of months to find out what the king, weak of
determination with his wicked sons, all did in his answering to
the desires of the mischievous ones [like
Karna]
He
remained in Hastinâpura for several months to
scrutinize the conduct of the weak-willed King, who had bad
sons and who was inclined to give in to the whims of
mischievous advisers. (Vedabase)
Text
5-6
Both
Vidura and Kuntî told him everything about the unbecoming
acts, like the administering of poison, perpetrated by the sons
of Dhritarâshthra in their intolerant disposition towards
the influence, skill, strength, bravery, humility and so on of
the sons of Prithâ, for whose excellent qualities the
citizens had a great liking.
Kuntî
and Vidura described to Akrûra in detail the evil
intentions of Dhritarâshthra's sons, who could not
tolerate the great qualities of Kuntî's sons - such as
their powerful influence, military skill, physical strength,
bravery and humility - or the intense affection the citizens
had for them. Kuntî and Vidura also told Akrûra
about how the sons of Dhritarâshthra had tried to
poison the Pândavas and carry out other such plots.
(Vedabase)
Text
7
Prithâ
now that she had her [Vrishni-]brother Akrûra
before her, addressed him and said, as she, with tears in her
eyes, remembered her place of birth [Mathurâ]:
Kuntîdevî,
taking advantage of her brother Akrûra's visit,
approached him confidentially. While remembering her
birthplace, she spoke with tears in her eyes.
(Vedabase)
Text
8
'O
gentle one, do our parents and brothers, my sisters, nephews
and the women of the family as well as my [old
girlhood] friends remember us still?
[Queen
Kuntî said:] O gentle one, do my parents,
brothers, sisters, nephews, family women and girlhood
friends still remember us? (Vedabase)
Text
9
Do my brother's
son, Krishna, the Supreme Lord, the shelter full of care for
the devotees and Râma with His lotuspetal eyes, still
think of the sons of His father's sister?
Does
my nephew Krishna, the Supreme Personality and the
compassionate shelter of His devotees, still remember His
aunt's sons? And does lotus-eyed Râma remember them
also? (Vedabase)
Text
10
And... will He
come to console me with His words, I who with young boys
deprived of their father in the midst of enemies is lamenting
like a doe between wolves?
Now
that I am suffering in the midst of my enemies like a doe in
the midst of wolves, will Krishna come to console me and my
fatherless sons with His words? (Vedabase)
Text
11
Krishna, o
Krishna, o Greatest of Yoga, o Soul and Protector of the
Universe, please watch over this surrendered soul who along
with her children is drowning in distress, o Govinda! [see
also 1.8:
17-43]
Krishna,
Krishna! O great yogi! O Supreme Soul and protector of the
universe! O Govinda! Please protect me, who have surrendered
to You. I and my sons are being overwhelmed by trouble.
(Vedabase)
Text
12
For mankind in
fear of death and rebirth I see no other shelter than the lotus
feet of You, the Master and Controller imparting
liberation.
For
persons fearful of death and rebirth, I see no shelter other
than Your liberating lotus feet, for You are the Supreme
Lord. (Vedabase)
Text
13
My
obeisances unto Krishna, the pure Absolute Truth and Supersoul,
the Controller of Yoga and Unifier of Consciousness; You whom
I've approached for shelter.'
I
offer my obeisances unto You, Krishna, the supreme pure, the
Absolute Truth and the Supersoul, the Lord of pure
devotional service and the source of all knowledge. I have
come to You for shelter. (Vedabase)
Text
14
S'rî
S'uka said: 'Your very great-grandmother this way, o King,
remembering her relatives and Krishna, the Controller of the
Universe, began to cry out aloud over her being
unhappy.
S'ukadeva
Gosvâmî said: Thus meditating on her family
members and also on Krishna, the Lord of the universe, your
great-grandmother Kuntîdevî began to cry out in
grief, O King. (Vedabase)
Text
15
Akrûra,
equal in distress and happiness, and the illustrious Vidura
consoled Kuntî with the explanation that her sons were
born from the gods [see family-tree].
Both
Akrûra, who shared Queen Kuntî's distress and
happiness, and the illustrious Vidura consoled the Queen by
reminding her of the extraordinary way her sons had taken
birth. (Vedabase)
Text
16
When
it was about time to leave approached he the king sitting among
his supporters who so impetuously was biased for his sons, in
order to speak with him about what in friendship was
communicated by his well-wishing relatives [Krishna and
Râma]
The
ardent affection King Dhritarâshthra felt for his sons
had made him act unjustly toward the Pândavas. Just
before leaving, Akrûra approached the King, who was
seated among his friends and supporters, and related to him
the message that his relatives - Lord Krishna and Lord
Balarâma - had sent out of friendship.
(Vedabase)
Text
17
Akrûra
said: 'O dear, beloved son of Vicitravîrya
[9.22:
21-25],
you to the greater glory of the Kurus have, with your bother
Pându having passed away, now assumed the
throne.
Akrûra
said: O my dear son of Vicitravîrya, O enhancer of the
Kurus' glory, your brother Pându having passed away,
you have now assumed the royal throne. (Vedabase)
.
Text
18
According the
dharma protecting the earth and the citizens will you,
delighting the people by good character, achieve perfection and
renown in remaining equally disposed to your
relatives!
By
religiously protecting the earth, delighting your subjects
with your noble character, and treating all your relatives
equally, you will surely achieve success and glory.
(Vedabase)
Text
19
Acting to the
contrary however will you, being condemned in this world, land
in darkness; so therefore be equal toward the Pândavas
and the ones born from you.
If
you act otherwise, however, people will condemn you in this
world, and in the next life you will enter the darkness of
hell. Remain equally disposed, therefore, toward
Pându's sons and your own. (Vedabase)
Text
20
There is for no
one an enduring association with anyone else in this world, o
King, not even with one's own body; so what to say about a
wife, children and so on?
In
this world no one has any permanent relationship with anyone
else, O King. We cannot stay forever even with our own body,
what to speak of our wife, children and the rest.
(Vedabase)
Text
21
One is born
alone and alone one also meets one's end, and alone one enjoys
one's merit as surely also one's demerit.
Every
creature is born alone and dies alone, and alone one
experiences the just rewards of his good and evil deeds.
(Vedabase)
Text
22
Of
an unintelligent person in need of support is by others in
disguise [as relatives] the wealth stolen that was
acquired against the dharma, just like with an aquatic the
water [the territory, is occupied by its own
offspring].
In
the guise of dear dependents, strangers steal the sinfully
acquired wealth of a foolish man, just as the offspring of a
fish drink up the water that sustains the fish.
(Vedabase)
Text
23
Indulging
against the dharma, thinking uneducated the things he feeds on
to be his own, is he in his purpose frustrated by them in loss
of his life-air, wealth, children and others
[see
4.31
6.15:
21-23 and
7.15].
A
fool indulges in sin to maintain his life, wealth and
children and other relatives, for he thinks, "These things
are mine." In the end, however, these very things all
abandon him, leaving him frustrated. (Vedabase)
Text
24
By
them abandoned taking the load upon him, not properly knowing
the purpose of life enters he with his goals unfulfilled blind
to his own religious duty indifferent the deepest
darkness [see
also 3.30;
5:
26;
6.1:
40].
Abandoned
by his so-called dependents, ignorant of the actual goal of
life, indifferent to his real duty, and having failed to
fulfill his purposes, the foolish soul enters the blindness
of hell, taking his sinful reactions with him.
(Vedabase)
Text
25
Therefore, with
seeing this world, o King, as a dream, as something magical, as
a thing of mind, bring the mind with intelligence under control
and become equal and peaceful, prabhu.'
Therefore,
O King, looking upon this world as a dream, a magician's
illusion or a flight of fancy, please control your mind with
intelligence and become equipoised and peaceful, my lord.
(Vedabase)
Text
26
Dhritarâshthra
said: 'From you speaking these words so auspicious, o master of
charity, can I, as a mortal, never get enough; they are like
the nectar of immortality!
Dhritarâshthra
said: O master of charity, I can never be satiated while
hearing your auspicious words. Indeed, I am like a mortal
who has obtained the nectar of the gods. (Vedabase)
Text
27
However
pleasing though, o gentle one, are they, like lightening in a
cloud, not fixed in my heart which is unsteady, with me being
prejudiced by the affection for my sons.
Even
so, gentle Akrûra, because my unsteady heart is
prejudiced by affection for my sons, these pleasing words of
yours cannot remain fixed there, just as lightning cannot
remain fixed in a cloud. (Vedabase)
Text
28
In what way
would a person be able to escape from what is ordained by the
Controller, who to diminish the burden of the earth has
descended in the Yadu family? [see B.G.
9: 8]
Who
can defy the injunctions of the Supreme Lord, who has now
descended in the Yadu dynasty to diminish the earth's
burden? (Vedabase)
Text
29
He whose path
is inconceivable, creates this universe by His own creative
energy, distributes the modes and enters into it; unto Him
whose ways are incrutable, the Supreme Controller from whom we
find liberation from the cycle of birth and death, my
obeisances.'
I
offer my obeisances to Him, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who creates this universe by the inconceivable
activity of His material energy and then distributes the
various modes of nature by entering within the creation.
From Him, the meaning of whose pastimes is unfathomable,
come both the entangling cycle of birth and death and the
process of deliverance from it. (Vedabase)
Text
30
S'rî
S'uka said: 'Thus convincing himself of the mentality of the
king, was Akrûra by his well-wishers permitted to leave
and returned he to the city of the Yadus.
S'ukadeva
Gosvâmî said: Having thus apprised himself of
the King's attitude, Akrûra, the descendant of Yadu,
took permission from his well-wishing relatives and friends
and returned to the capital of the Yâdavas.
(Vedabase)
Text
31
To the purpose
for which he was sent, reported he to Râma and Krishna
what the position was that
Dhritarâshthra had taken in relation to the
Pândavas, o descendant of Kuru.'
Akrûra
reported to Lord Balarâma and Lord Krishna how
Dhritarâshthra was behaving toward the Pândavas.
Thus, O descendant of the Kurus, he fulfilled the purpose
for which he had been sent. (Vedabase)
