Sanjay had returned to Hastinapura, but, gave only a gist of the messages from the Pandavas to Dhritarashtra. He would talk in detail the next day. But, that was enough to spoil the sleep of the old king. He sent for Vidura immediately to hear the wise counsel of his learned step brother.
What Vidura gave was, indeed, a long discourse. Veda Vyasa has a full chapter, quite a big one, on “the sleepless night of the king (Prajaagara Parvam)” exclusively on Vidura’s discourse to the old Kaurava king. The subjects covered were the codes of conduct for various classes of people, especially, for the royals. He narrated various short stories to make some of his points clear.
Vidura thought that he would not be the right person to talk on subjects that were more philosophical in nature. For this purpose he meditated on sage Sanatsujata who was a highly enlightened Brahmin. The sage appeared immediately and talked to Dhritarashtra on meditation and matters of deep philosophical nature. One exclusive chapter covers the wise counsel of Santsujata to Dhritarashtra (Sanatsujata Parvam)
Arjuna’s message
Next morning Sanjaya addressed the full assembly of the Kaurava king. He started with the message from Arjuna to the Kauravas. Essentially, Arjuna sent words of grave warning through Sanjaya. The Pandavas were asking for what was their due. If that was denied, he and his brothers would, without doubt, annihilate the entire Kaurava army, though led by great warriors like Bhishma and Drona. The Pandavas have the moral support from Krishna . Heroes like Dhrishtadyumna and Satyaki would fight with the Pandavas to make their task easy.
Differences in the Kauravas Ranks
After hearing the warning words of Arjuna, Bhishma upheld the claim of the Pandava. He firmly asked Duryodhana to comply with the Pandavas’ request. It would be foolish to go to war counting merely on the words of assurance from Karna.
Karna, as usual, did not like Bhishma’s words. But, Bhishma stuck to his stand and asked Dhritarashtra to think about Arjuna’s words seriously.
Sanjaya, then, described all the veterans who had come in support of the Pandavas. He went , at length, into the angry mood of Bhima. He was waiting impatiently for the war to start so that he could avenge for the crimes against the Pandavas committed by the Kauravas in the past.
Dhritarashtra was worried hearing about Bhima. He lamented that his sons would perish at the hands of the mighty Pandava. He also agreed that the entire Kaurava army would not match the power of Arjuna. The Kaurava sire declared that peace with the Pandavas was the best course of action. He asked Duryodhana to return half of the kingdom to the Pandavas without delay and avert war. His minister, Sanjaya, agreed with the king.
But, Duryodhana stood firm on his resolve not to give even an inch of land to the Pandavas. He did not think that there was anything to fear about Bhima and Arjuna.
The scene in the Kaurava assembly witnessed heated exchanges between Duryodhana and Karna on one side and all the elders, including Bhishma, Drona and Vidura on the other.
As suggested by Sanjaya, Dhritarashtra sent for Gandhari. The aged couple tried their best to reason out with their son, but without success.
Sage Veda Vyasa also appeared on the scene when he sensed that his presence was needed in the Kaurava assembly. Vyasa said that he anticipated that Krishna would soon arrive in person to negotiate for peace. That gave some hope to the mind of Dhritarashtra which was in great turmoil.
With this the chapter of peace negotiations (Yana Sandhi Parvam) ends.
