The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section 205

Section CCV. *( Viduragamana Parva continued.* ) Vaisampayana said, "Asked by Dhrita-rashtra to give his opinion, Bhisma replied, 'O Dhrita-rastra, quarrel with the Pandavas is what I can never approve. As thou art to me, so is Pandu without doubt. And the sons of Gāndhāri are to me as those of Kunti. I should protect them as well as I should thy sons, O Dhrita-rashtra! And, O king, the Padavas are as much near to me as they are to prince Duryodhana or to all the other Kurus. Under these circumstances, a quarrel with them is what I never like. Concluding a treaty with those heroes, let half the land be given unto them. This is, without doubt, the paternal kingdom of those foremost of the Kurus also. And, O Duryodhana, like thee who lookest upon this kingdom as thy paternal property, the Pandavas also look upon it as their paternal possession. If the renowned sons of Pandu obtain not the kingdom, how can it be thine, or of any other descendant of the Bharata race? If thou regardest thyself as lawfully come into the possession of the kingdom, I think they have lawfully come into the possession of this kingdom before thee! Give unto them half the kingdom, in peace. This, O thou tiger among men, is beneficial to all. If thou actest otherwise, evil will befall us all. And thou too shalt be covered with dishonor. O Duryodhana, strive thou to maintain thy good name. A good name is, indeed, the source of one's strength. It hath been said that one liveth in vain whose reputation hath gone. A man, O Kaurava, doth not die so long as his fame lasteth! One liveth as long as one's fame lasteth, and dieth when one's fame is gone! Follow thou, O son of Gāndhāri, the practise that is worthy of the Kuru race. O thou of mighty arms, imitate thou thy own ancestors! We are fortunate that the Pandavas have not perished. We are fortunate that Kunti too liveth. We are furtunate that the wretch Purochana without being able to accomplish his purpose hath himself perished. From that time when I heard that the sons of Kunti-bhoja's daughter were burnt to death, I was, O son of Gāndhāri, ill able to meet any living creature. And, O thou tiger among men, hearing of the fate that overtook Kunti (and her sons), the world doth not regard Purochana so guilty as it regardeth thee! And, O king, the escape, therefore, of the sons of Pandu with life from that conflagration, and their reappearance, do away with thy evil repute! And know, O thou of the Kuru race, that as long as those heroes live, the wielder of thunder himself cannot deprive them of their ancestral share in the kingdom! The Pandavas are virtuous and united. Wrongly are they being kept out of their equal share in the kingdom. If thou shouldst act rightly, if thou shouldst do what is agreeable to me, if thou shouldst seek the welfare of all, give half the kingdom unto them!'" Thus ends the two hundred and fifth Section in the Vidurāgamana of the Adi Parva.