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Library: When Yudhishthira speaks of giving up his life, sage Vyasa advises, act in accordance with how you have been created by the Creator, in your duties. You are not the master of your own self.
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
When the young Abhimanyu was slain, and also the sons of Draupadī, as well as Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Virāṭa, Drupada, and the king, [were killed].
In Vasuṣeṇa, the knower of dharma, Dhṛṣṭaketu, the king, and likewise among other kings from various regions in the battle.
Sorrow, which is the destroyer of relatives, afflicts me, who desires the kingdom, is very fierce, and causes the destruction of my own lineage, does not leave me.
He, on whose lap I played and whom I turned over, that Gāṅgeya (Bhīṣma), by me, desirous of the kingdom, was caused to fall.
When I saw him reeling from Arjuna's arrows, trembling as if struck by thunderbolts, and Śikhaṇḍin watching him.
When I saw my grandfather Narasimha, tall and lion-like though aged, being assailed by sharp arrows, my mind was deeply troubled.
As I faced east, sinking and yet not fallen from the chariot, struck by arrows and reeling like a mountain, then faintness overcame me.
He who, with arrow and bow in hand, fought Bhārgava for many days, was the Kaurava in the great battle at Kurukṣetra.
Bhīṣma, the son of the river, gathered the kings and kṣatriyas in Varanasi and, for the maiden's sake, valiantly challenged them all to battle alone with his chariot.
Ugrāyudha, the king and universal monarch, who was difficult to approach, was burnt by the power of weapons and slain by me in battle.
He, who protected himself from death and did not bring down Śikhaṇḍin, the son of Drupada, with arrows, was struck down by Arjuna.
O best of sages, when I saw him fallen on the ground, smeared with blood, at that very moment a very fierce fever entered me. The one by whom the children were nourished, by whom indeed they were protected.
He was slain by me, a sinful, deluded slayer of my teacher, greedy for the kingdom, for the sake of a kingdom that would last only a short time.
The teacher, a great archer honored by all kings, was approached in battle and falsely accused by the wicked in front of his son.
What my teacher said to me burns my body. O king, if my son is alive, then you are truly a man of your word. The sage, reflecting on the truth, questioned me about it.
I, excessively greedy for the kingdom, sinful, and a slayer of my teacher, made a false interval with the elephant.
Having taken truth as my armor, I told the teacher in battle, 'Aśvatthāmā is slain,' when the elephant was killed. What worlds will I reach, having committed that dreadful act?
And not having slain that Karṇa, who never flees in battle, my eldest and most formidable brother—who could be more sinful than I am?
I, driven by desire, sent Abhimanyu, who was just a boy but born like a lion among mountains, into the army guarded by Droṇa.
From that time, I have not been able to look at the terrible Kṛṣṇa, the lotus-eyed one, feeling sinful like a killer of an embryo.
I grieve for Draupadī, who did not deserve such sorrow and was deprived of her five sons; I also grieve for the earth, now bereft of her five heroes, like mountains lost from the land.
I, being that offender, sinner, and destroyer of the earth, sitting just so, will dry up this body.
Today, know me as one who has undertaken a fast unto death, as the slayer of my teacher, so that I may never become a destroyer of the family, even in future births.
O ascetic, I will neither eat nor use water in any way. Standing here, I will dry up my dear life-breaths.
Go as you wish; I grant you permission after propitiating you. All of you, please permit me; I shall give up this body.
Vaiśampāyana said.
Seeing Arjuna, overwhelmed by grief for his relatives and speaking thus, Vyāsa, the best among sages, restrained him and said, 'Not so.'
O great king, do not grieve excessively. I will again explain this which is destined, O lord.
The unions and separations of living beings who are born are inevitable; just as bubbles appear and disappear in water, so too do these connections come and go.
All gatherings end in decay, all risings end in a fall, all unions end in separation, and life indeed ends in death.
Happiness comes at the end of sorrow; laziness is the opposite of dexterity; sorrow leads to the rise of happiness. Prosperity, fortune, modesty, fortitude, and success never dwell in the incompetent.
Friends alone are not enough for happiness, nor are evil-hearted people alone enough for sorrow. Wisdom alone is not sufficient for gaining objects, nor is wealth alone sufficient even for happiness.
O son of Kunti, act in accordance with how you have been created by the Creator, in your duties. Therefore, success will be yours; you are not the master by your own self, O king.
