Sanjaya said, “O King of Kings, O son of Pandu! Glory be to you! Now I will take leave of you and return to Hastinapura. I hope I haven’t uttered any words or said anything untoward that has caused you pain because of the disturbance in my mind.
I seek permission from Bhagawan Shree Krishna, Bhimasena, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva, Satyaki and from Chekitana to leave now. I pray that you will all attain happiness and glory. O Kings! Please look upon me with love.”
Yudhishtira said, “Sanjaya! I give you permission to leave now. May you prosper! Now you can go. O Wise One! You never think of us in a disagreeable manner. Therefore, Kauravas and ourselves always look upon you as a pure sincere arbitrator and member.
Sanjaya! You are a trustworthy messenger and extremely dear to us all. Your words are always auspicious and good. You are virtuous and patient. Your intellect never gets deluded and you never get angry upon hearing harsh words.
Messenger! You never utter words that are not only cruel but also jolt the heart. You also do not speak of dreary insipid matters and irrelevant subjects.
We know very well that as your life is congruent to dharma, it will be be charming, meaningful and bereft of violence.
Sanjaya! You are extremely dear to us. It appears that another Vidura has itself come here as a messenger. You used to meet us repeatedly previously as well and you hold a very special place in the heart of Dhananjaya.
Sanjaya! When you arrive in Hastinapura, please make haste and offer our salutations to those who are worthy of respect, honour and grace namely those pure powerful Brahmans who observe Brahmacharya sincerely and who are engrossed in the study of the Vedas and scriptures and those born into nobility and exalted lineage and those endowed with all virtues and finest qualities.
Please offer our pranaams to the scholars and those well-versed Brahmans, ascetics and those tapasvi sages who live in the forest and the elderly people and also make kind enquiries of the rest.
Hey Venerable Sanjaya! Please convey our kind enquiries of the purohits, acharyas and their ritwiks of King Dhrutharashtra when you meet them. When you are of calm and peaceful disposition with your mind in ekagratha, please fold your hands and convey my regards to all of them.
O Respected One! Please convey our kind regards to the elderly sudras residing in Hastinapura who have their mind under control and are endowed with virtue and strength and who attempt to observe dharma as per their capability and who have only our best interests in mind and remember us repeatedly. Following that please also ask them of their health.
Please convey our regards to the vaishayas namely those who earn their livelihood in the kingdom of the Kauravas through profession/business and those who take care of cattle and those who are engaged in farming the lands to provide grains and food for the people.
Please offer our pranaams to Acharya Drona who observed Brahmacharya to receive the education and knowledge of the Vedas, who received the knowledge of Astra Vidya by learning the four steps namely mantra, upachar – remedy/treatment, prayog – usage/application/experiment and samhara – destruction and who is dear to all, moralistic, humble and disciplined and ever-blissful and worthy of our respect and salutations.
Please convey our kind regards to Ashwathaama who is endowed with supreme complete knowledge of the Vedas, who excels in good behaviour, who has received the Astra Vidya along with the four steps and who is a gallant warrior moving at a speed equal to that of gandharvakumars.
Sanjaya! Thereafter, please visit the house of Kripacharya, the superlative gallant warrior among realized persons and please touch his feet with both your hands taking my name repeatedly.
Please catch both the feet of the most exemplary of the Kurus, Bhishma Pithamaha who is endowed with veeratva – valour, daya – compassion, tapasya – austerity, buddhi – intelligence, sheela – virtue, shastrajnāna – knowledge of the scriptures, sattva – truth, purity and wisdom and dhairya – fortitude and other virtues and fine qualities and offer my pranaams.
Sanjaya! Please offer my pranaams to the old king bereft of sight, King Dhrutharashtra who is the leader of the Kauravas, possesses knowledge of the many scriptures, the servant of the elderly and who is intelligent and please convey to him that I am healthy and safe and sound.
O Wise Sanjaya! Please convey my kind regards to that Suyodhana who is the first born of Dhrutharashtra, the dullard, the foolish, the dishonest rogue and the evil one who is condemned by all in the universe.
O Venerable Sanjaya! Please also convey my kind enquiries to Dusshaasana, Duryodhana’s younger brother who is equally foolish and forever engaged in evil actions and who is an excellent archer and noted warrior of the Kurukula.
Sanjaya! Pray that peace always reigns in Bharatavamshi and besides this, there is no other expectation in the heart. Please offer my pranaams to the intelligent Bahlika, the supreme person of the Bahlika vamsha who is of ascetic disposition.
That Somadatta who is endowed with superlative qualities and virtues, who is wise and who does not have a shred of cruelty in him and who has always very affectionately tolerated our anger is forever venerable to me.
Sanjaya! The son of Somadatta namely Bhurishrava is considered to be an exemplary man in the Kurukula. He is a very close relative of ours and my dear friend. He holds a very high position among warriors on chariots. He is a great archer and respected warrior. Please make kind enquiries of him along with the ministers from my side.
Sanjaya! Besides these great people, you please convey to the foremost youths of Kurukula who are like our sons, grandsons and brothers in the manner that you deem appropriate to each that the Pandavas are healthy and happy.
All the kings who have been called to fight against us Pandavas by Duryodhana – that is from Vashathi, Shalva, Kekaya, Ambashta and Trigartha and the foremost warriors from east, north, south and west who are endowed with glory and fame and other the leaders from the mountains will be assembled there. Those people are kind, humble and are endowed with good conduct. Sanjaya! Please convey my regards to all of them.
Please convey my regards and enquiries after the health of all those who ride on elephants, chariots, horses and walk as well as the noble gentlemen who have assembled there in large numbers.
Please enquire about those who are engaged in the works that are beneficial to the king namely the ministers, gate-keepers, leaders of the army as well as those who are in charge of the income and expenditure accounts of the kingdom and those who are engaged in solving big important works and who contemplate on serious questions.
O Wise One! Please ask about the health and welfare of that Vaishyaputra, Yuyutsu who is foremost among the Kauravas, who is extremely intelligent, a jnāni and endowed with dharma in entirety and to whom a war between Kauravas and Pandavas is undesirable.
O Venerable One! Please convey my regards to Chitrasena who is unrivalled in usurpation and in the game of dice/gambling and who knows how to hide beguilement/treachery very well while playing the game of dice and who is a maven in the art of throwing dice and who is also formidable and difficult to conquer in war even for one who is riding on a heavenly chariot.
O Wise Sanjaya! Please ask about the welfare of that ignorant/deluded king of Gandhaar of the mountains who does not take any reward from the usurped wealth from a game of dice and who always compliments Duryodhana.
Please make my enquiries of Karna, belonging to the sun who is an unmatched warrior and who desires to defeat the invincible Pandavas in a moment’s notice with the help of a chariot and who also ignites the greed in the already greedy sons of Dhrutharashtra.
The immeasurably intelligent and wise prospicient Vidura is dear to us, our Guru, caretaker, father-mother and friend and is also our minister and counsel. Sanjaya! Please ask about his welfare on my behalf.
Sanjaya! All the virtuous old ladies in the palace are like our mothers. Please meet all those elderly women together and offer our salutations.
Sanjaya! Please address those elderly women like this -“Mothers! Do your sons behave their best with you? There is no cruelty, is there? Do you all have long living sons?” After saying thus, please convey to them that their child, Yudhishtira who is without enemies is safe and sound with his sons.
O Wise Sanjaya! You know all the ladies of our brothers in Hastinapura well. Please enquire after them and ask them if they are safe and leading a blemishless life. Are you receiving the necessary fragrances and other beautifying and cosmetic items? Are you living in your homes bereft of pramad – lack of discrimination, foolishness, carelessness, delirium and hallucinations? O blessed graceful ladies! Are you behaving in a manner devoid of cruelty and bitterness with your family members and are you behaving in a manner that is in the best interests of and for the well-being and disposition of your husbands?
Sanjaya! Please embrace all the little girls residing in the palace and enquire about them from my behalf saying thus, “Daughters! Pray that you obtain a good husband who remains agreeable always. Similarly, even you be agreeable always with him”.
O Wise Sanjaya! Please ask about the welfare of those women who are into wearing beautiful dresses, who’s vision is desirable and who utters words that are pleasing to one’s mind, who is adorned in beautiful costumes and is beautified with stunning embellishments, wears lovely and superb fragrance, bereft of abominable conduct, pleasing and blissful and endowed with material wealth and belongings.
And in the end, please ask about the health and welfare of all the servants of the Kauravas and those humpbacked and physically handicapped who are in their protection.
And ask them if King Dhrutharashtra compassionately takes care of those disabled, paupers and dwarfs and if Duryodhana gives them enough food to sustain themselves? Are they abiding by their ancient moral conduct and living out their lives?
Also please convey my regards and enquire after the health of all the mahouts both blind and old after speaking of my welfare.
Along with that also please reassure them and give them my message. Do not be afraid of whatever sorrow you receive and whatever disagreeable and hateful life you are forced to lead. It is definitely the fruits of the sins committed in another life that you are experiencing. I will capture my enemies in a few days time and be gracious on friends and well-wishers with food and clothes and I will take care of your needs.
Tell King Duryodhana that I had set aside a portion to take care of the yearly needs of some Brahmans for their existence but it is regretful that your officials are not doing this properly. I want to once again see that those Brahmans are endowed in the same conduct. Please dispatch some messenger to me with this news that they will be treated in the appropriate manner and offered all that is due to them.
Sanjaya! On my behalf please visit those pitiable ones namely the orphans, the weak and sickly, the foolish and those who only attempt to nourish their own bodies and ask about their welfare.
Sutaputra! Besides these, there are several people from different directions residing there who have taken refuge with the sons of Dhrutharashtra. Please meet all those respectable persons as well and ask about them and if they are still alive.
Similarly please ask about the welfare of all the messengers of the various kings who have arrived there and other visitors who are there and in the end please convey my welfare as well.
There are no warriors like the great ones Duryodhana has gathered on this earth and therefore, as dharma is the Truth, I have the greatest strength of dharma to destroy the enemies.
Sanjaya! Please convey this message again to Duryodhana, “The ambition/aspiration that has grown in your mind within the body that I should rule over the kingdom of the Kauravas without any obstacles/thorns is only giving you anguish and is painful to your heart. There is no solution for it to succeed. We are not impotent to allow your ambition to be realized. O supreme warrior of Bharatavamsha! You return Indraprastha back to me else go to war.”
[Sanjaya-yāna Parva – Sanjaya takes leave and Yudhishtira’s message – Chapter 30 of Udyoga Parva – Slokas 1 – 49]
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