Vidura: Royal Counsellor and Devotee Part I

By Kundan Lall

Her eyes swooned and her senses were struck dumb, as she opened her humble cottage door and the glory of Krishna burst upon her. True, she was a slave-girl at the court of King Devaka, but all the resplendence she had witnessed there paled into insignificance before this vision. Even His consorts who are always dallying with Him are overwhelmed anew with irresistible joy and desire when He appears before them. Lakshmi herself, famed for her fickleness, cannot quit His feet for a moment. Like a cloud decked in sunlight He appeared at her cottage door by the banks of the Holy Ganges over on the other side of the loyal town of Hastnapore.

She was having her bath when the Divine Voice summoned her. She knew the Voice. Everything was forgotten-- the humbleness of her adobe, His Greatness, the wonder of His visit--She only knew that He was there. Her joy was unbounded.

According to the laws of Hindu hospitality it is incumbent upon the host to offer refreshments. So, as her husband was away at the time, she immediately brought forth what they had in her humble abode- some bananas--and seating herself before Him she began to peel the fruit and offer them to Him, the while she gazed at Him with joyful adoration.

Thus, Vidura, her husband, found them when he returned. Seated before Him, devoid of clothes, her rapturous attention fixed upon Him she was putting banana-peels into His mouth and throwing away the fruit. And He in merry mood was eating her offerings as if enjoying its most delicious flavour.

Seeing Krishna in His cottage Vidura was happy beyond measure, but observing, later, that His wife was offering Him the peels and throwing away the fruit, he admonished her. His voice suddenly awoke her to the consciousness of her surroundings and realizing what she was doing and in what condition she was sitting before him she was overcome with shame and hastily withdrew.

Krishna had much conversation with Vidura on high matters of State in connection with the affairs of his nephews, the Pandavas and the Kurus, deploring that they had not listened to the wise counsels of Vidura who was famed for his far-sightedness. Krishna held Vidura in high esteem and had then come to him straight from the palace of Duryodhan across the river where He had gone on an embassy on the part of Yudhishthir. Duryodhan had asked Him to a feast but He had declined to partake of it, at first because it was against the canons of chivalry to accept hospitality before His embassy was completed and, later, on the grounds that it was not offered to Him out of affection and He could have accepted it only if He was in distress. Indeed, He had spoken out more frankly to Duryodhan, telling him that He would prefer His meal at the lowly cottage of Vidura who was strict in the observance of the Laws, just, pure, generous and withal impartial, looking on all with equal eyes.

In the meanwhile Vidura's wife busied herself trying to atone for her feeding Him with banana peels. Alas, in her poor home nothing was available, so she gathered Bathua, *a wild herb that grew round her cottage and perforce from it prepared a dish with much skill and greater love.

It is said that the Mighty Prince, the Emperor of Emperors, is a mightier Lover and has a more resplendent empire in the heart of his Dasis. Having disdained a royal banquet, Krishna sat in the lowly cottage on the sand banks of the Ganges enjoying the feast of Bathua waited upon by the slave couple Vidura and his wife.

VIDURA'S LINEAGE

Yes, Vidura was also the offspring of a slave-girl though his father was the great sage Vyasa. It is recorded that king Vichitra-Virya of the line of Kuru died childless leaving behind him two widows Ambika and Ambalika. Satyavati the mother of the dead king asked Bhisma to beget children on his brother's widows so that the royal line may not perish. But Bhisma refused because of his vow. Satyavati was known as a Matsya-girl before her marriage when she worked as a ferry-woman and at that time she had given birth to a son who later became famous as the sage Vyasa. She commanded Him to beget children on his half-brother's widows. Now Ambalika found Vyasa so terrible in appearance that she went white with fear at his approach and the son born of the union was so pale that he was called Pandu. The elder widow Ambika closed her eyes and she gave birth to the blind child Dhritarashtra. Satyavati again requested Ambika to become the mother of a child without blemish but she shirked going to Vyasa a second time and, therefore, decking one of her slaves in her dress she sent her to Vyasa. Their child was Vidura.

Though Vyasa is reported to have been hideous and emaciated no doubt because of his austerities- he was the illumined sage who gave to the world all its Revelations. Vidura was thus rich in inheritance beyond his fellows. His wise counsels to the rival cousins, if listened to, would have averted the world disaster--the war of Mahabharat. He had endeavoured to dissuade Duryodhan from cheating at the gambling match. On more than one occasion he helped the Pandavas to escape from the treacherous wiles of the Kurus--once from poison and on another occasion from Yatugriha, the House of Shellac.

Dhritarashtra in his blind doting fondness for his son Duryodhan agreed to the plan of ordering the Pandavas to live in retirement at Varanavat (near modern Allahabad). A house had been specially prepared for their abode by Duryodhan's order. It was built of shellac, very beautiful in design, with alluring colours and cunning artistry. Yatugriha, the House of Shellac was indeed a unique work of art. It was most cunningly designed--both in beauty and purpose. It was to deceive the Pandavas, being ostensibly an expression of love and solicitude on the part of those who had it erected for them but its cruel combustibility was to serve the purpose of burning and burying them when they were safely lodged in it and lulled into a sense of security. Vidura somehow came to know of the secret plans of his nephew and disguising himself as a pilgrim he went to Varanavata to warn the Pandavas. How Yudhishthir and his brothers bored a tunnel from the house to Ekchakra and so escaped the dreadful fate intended for them, the good that came out of it, the killing Baka Rakshasa, the glorious winning of Draupadi the beautiful, dusky, princess of Panchala (a country in the south east of the modern Province of Agra) and their return are related elsewhere in song and story.

Hastinapore was washed away by the Ganges in the reign of King Nichakra who moved his capital to Kausambhi and there is now not even a sign left to tell us of its imperial glories. On the site of the cottage of Vidura, however, there stands a temple of the inseparable Diety Radha-Krishna, with a monastery attached to it where Sannyasis of the Gaudiya Order keep alive the memorable event and spend their days in praise and prayer and gathering Bathua, that Viduras wife once offered to Him, they still serve it to Krishna and themselves partake of the sacramental remnants. The place is known as Vidura Kutir and is reached by a five-mile road from the modern town of Bijnor in the province of Agra. It is a strangely peaceful spot. The holy river flows at the foot of the hill and one may dream rising across the expanse of the waters palaces and mansions of the royal town of Hastinapore and a little further up the river are the plains of Sukartal where Srimad Bhagavat was recited by Sukhdev for the benefit of Parikshit.

Nearby is the village whose name--Daranagar, the town of wives-- according to local tradition, commemorates the dwelling of the widows of the Mahabharat under the gentle protection of Vidura.

VIDURA’S RETIRMENT

Before the first battle of the Mahabharat, Vidura sat up with Dhritarashtra the whole night in his camp discoursing upon the right duty. He tried to dissuade the blind king from the evil and disastrous course he was pursuing. At the end the doting monarch cried out in agony, “I fully perceive that thou art right, that our actions are wrong and that duty and religion are against us. But, O Vidura, when I think of Duryodhan all other thoughts vanish from my mind.” Dhritarashtra in his insane love for Duryodhan dealt repeatedly in an unfair and treacherous manner towards the Pandava brothers in spite of Vidura’s wise counsels and entreaties. The final rupture came that day and Vidura threw down his bow and arrow and discarding the robes of his high office of counsellor of state donned a barken garb and retired into the forest. During his pilgrimages he met Uddhava and Maitreya. The noble discourses between these are described at length in Srimad Bhagavat.

Vidura, having gained complete knowledge from his Master Maitreya, returned to Hastinapore from his pilgrimage. The war was over, Krishna had already Ascended and in the royal town there was distress and mourning. Dhritarashtra, though he had lost all that he held dear, was still clinging to the things of sorrow. Vidura knowing that his time was approaching counselled Dhritarashtra, “The loss of riches and such other things is very insignificant seeing that man has to give up even his life. Thy ancestors, brothers, children and friends have died, thy body is afflicted with the infirmities of old age. Even the house in which thou livest is not thy own. Thou wert born blind, now thy powers of hearing, thy teeth and thy digestion all have decayed. Thou takest breath with difficulty and yet the desire for enjoyment has not left thee. Verily, the desire for living is the strongest amongst animals, and it is, therefore, that thou clingest to life even though thou art forced to do so by getting food thrown to you, as Bhima throws riceballs to his pet dogs. Is it not shamefull to continue to maintain life with the food given by those whom thou erstnow sought to destroy by fire and poison, whom thou didst deprive of wealth and kingdom and whose wife even thou didst so grossly insult? And what is the life thou wishest thus to maintain? A miserable body decaying, like old clothing, with age. Surely he is wise who self-possessed, indifferent to his body and his surroundings, keeping Hari in his mind, goeth from his house to seek Him.”

Thus admonished Dhritarashtra with his wife Gandhari went to a place called Sapta-Srota in Southern Himalayas. The place is so called because the Holy Ganges here divides herself into seven branches for the pleasure of the seven sages.

Yudhishthira sat sorrowful in his palace, after the departure of his uncles and aunts and there came to him the glorious Narada. Narada with his lyre is ever present as the prompter on the stage whenever any actor in the Divine Drama hesitates and is doubtful or forgetful of the part assigned to him. "Do not attempt to come in the way of Dhritarashtra who hath renounced all acts. He shall give up his mortal frame on the fifth day following this day; and through the funeral pyre of her husband, made of the leaves of the hut in which he is leaving, his virtuous consort Gandhari shall follow him. But O descendant of Kuru, having witnessed the sight, Vidura shall depart from that place for enjoying felicity of visiting places of pilgrimage". Saying this Narada with his lyre ascended to abode.

Now Vidura had still to live upon this earth many days till the curse was over, for Vidura was Yama under a curse. It is related that once the watchmen of a king traced some thieves to the hermitage of the sage Mandavya, whereupon they were all sentenced to be impaled upon the stake. The prince, however, discovered just in time that Mandavya was a sage and no felon. He immediately released him and paid him due respects. But the sage felt much incensed at the insult and enquired from Yama the reason of it. Yama, the dispenser of justice, for the doings of mankind, informed him that during his infancy he had pierced, in playful mood, a grass-hopper with a blade of Kusa grass and this was its retribution. Mandavya cursed Yama saying that as he had inflicted such an unproportionate punishment for a crime committed in ignorance he will be born and shall live as a Shudra upon the earth for one hundred years.

Yudhisthira went in search of Vidura in later years and after much seeking found him, at least, only at the moment when his time was complete and he was leaving the human frame. The king desired to cremate his body with due ceremony but he heard a heavenly voice saying "Grieve not for him he has ascended to the Sanatanic Lok. Seek not to build a funeral pyre for him, he was a Sannyasi."