On hearing of the various incarnations of the Lord, the Suta tells Shaunaka that even though the greatness of the names, forms and activities of the Supreme being has been extolled, the wise worship only the Supreme being that performs no action.Shaunaka at the end of the second canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam asks Suta to explain how the great devotee Vidura left all members of his family and went on a pilgrimage to many holy places, how he met Maitreya and sought clarifications on many issues related to the matter of spirit. The Suta says even Parikshit who was listening to the Srimad Bhagavatam from the young sage Shuka asked this question. “I will narrate to you what Sri Shuka said,” the Suta tells Shaunaka Rishi.
Shuka said when Sri Krishna went to the city of Hastinapura as a mediator between the Pandavas and Kauravas seeking to stop the war by conciliatory measures, he refused to stay in the palace of Duryodhana even though he was given a very pompous welcome. He chose to go to the house of the devoted Vidura.
The Bhagavatam conveys the message of the supreme reality through a story that is set from one Satsanga to another. King Parikshit questioned Shuka about the extraordinary meeting between Maitreya and Vidura.
Shuka said Raja Dhritarashtra was not just visually challenged. He also had lost his good sense of discrimination between dharma and adharma. Out of blind love for his sons, he supported Duryodhana despite his evil actions. One such cruel action was to permit his brother’s sons, the Pandavas, to occupy the wax palace on the instructions of Duryodhana, knowing well that he was planning to set fire to it and kill his cousins. When Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, was disrobed and crying for help, he did not bother to stop his sons.
Describing the events of the Mahabharata, Shuka said when Vidura tried to reason out to abandon Duryodhana, the jealous son of Dhritarashtra abused Vidura by calling him the son of a maid-servant who had no right to be there and give advice. Vidura was shocked to hear these words in the very presence of his brother. He did not retaliate. He just left the palace, leaving his bow at the palace gate.
Vidura’s pilgrimage took him to many holy places, undertaking fasts, bathing in pure waters of holy rivers. He travelled through the land of Bharat and reached Prabhasa, near Dwaraka. Yudhishtira was the king with an established empire. He met Uddhava on the banks of the Yamuna.
Uddhava asked him many questions about the members of his family. He replied to it all in one line saying it was all the creation of the Lord’s maya and asked him to talk of the glories of Sri Krishna.
The author is Sevak, Chinmaya Mission, Tiruchi; email: brni.sharanyachaitanya@gmail.com; www.chinmayamission.com