Section CCV

"Vaisampayana said, 'Asked by Dhritarashtra to give his opinion, Bhishma replied,

'O Dhritarashtra, a quarrel with the Pandavas is what I can never approve of. As you are to me, so was Pandu without doubt. And the sons of Gandhari are to me, as those of Kunti. I should protect them as well as I should your sons, O Dhritarashtra!

And, O king, the Pandavas are as much near to me as they are to prince Duryodhana or to all the other Kurus. Under these circumstances a quarrel with them is what I never like. Concluding a treaty with those heroes, let half the land be given unto them. This is without doubt, the paternal kingdom of those foremost ones of the Kuru race.

And, O Duryodhana, like you who lookest upon this kingdom as your paternal property, the Pandavas also look upon it as their paternal possession. If the renowned sons of Pandu obtain not the kingdom, how can it be thine, or that of any other descendant of the Bharata race?

If you regardest thyself as one that has lawfully come into the possession of the kingdom, I think they also may be regarded to have lawfully come into the possession of this kingdom before you. Give them half the kingdom quietly.

This, O tiger among men, is beneficial to all. If you actest otherwise, evil will befall us all. You too shall be covered with dishonour.

O Duryodhana, strive to maintain your good name. A good name is, indeed, the source of one’s strength. It has been said that one lives in vain whose reputation has gone.

A man, O Kaurava, does not die so long as his fame lasts. One lives as long as one’s fame endures, and dies when one’s fame is gone.

Follow you, O son of Gandhari, the practice that is worthy of the Kuru race.

O you of mighty arms, imitate your own ancestors. We are fortunate that the Pandavas have not perished. We are fortunate that Kunti lives. We are fortunate that the wretch Purocana without being able to accomplish his purpose has himself perished. From that time when I heard that the sons of Kuntibhoja’s daughter had been burnt to death, I was, O son of Gandhari, ill able to meet any living creature.

O tiger among men, hearing of the fate that overtook Kunti, the world does not regard Purocana so guilty as it regards you.

O king, the escape, therefore, of the sons of Pandu with life from that conflagration and their re-appearance, do away with your evil repute.

Know, O you of Kuru’s race, that as long as those heroes live, the wielder of the thunder himself cannot deprive them of their ancestral share in the kingdom. The Pandavas are virtuous and united. They are being wrongly kept out of their equal share in the kingdom. If you should act rightly, if you should do what is agreeable to me, if you should seek the welfare of all, then give half the kingdom unto them.'"