Yudhishthira, with gentle affection, addressed Vidura, recalling the days when he and his brothers, together with their mother, found shelter and safety under Vidura’s care. He spoke of the dangers they had faced—poison, fire, and other perils—from which Vidura had protected them. With concern, Yudhishthira asked how Vidura had managed to sustain himself during his wanderings across the earth. Had he visited the sacred places and holy fields scattered throughout the land? Yet, Yudhishthira added, devotees like Vidura are themselves holy places, sanctifying even the most sacred sites, for within their hearts they carry the Lord who wields the mace. He inquired further about their friends and relatives, the worshippers of Krishna, and whether Vidura had seen or heard of the Yadavas, and if they were living happily in their city. Thus addressed by Dharmaraja, Vidura recounted all that he had experienced on his travels, step by step, yet he withheld the sorrowful tale of the destruction of the Yadu dynasty. Though a calamity both painful and unbearable had occurred, Vidura, moved by compassion and unable to bear the grief of others, chose not to speak of it. For some time, Vidura remained there, honored and content as if he were a celestial, bringing well-being to his elder brother and happiness to all around. Meanwhile, Aryama, upholding justice, punished wrongdoers as needed, for Yama, due to a curse, was living as a Shudra for a hundred years. Yudhishthira, having regained his kingdom and seeing his own grandson established as heir, rejoiced with his brothers—those guardians of the world—in supreme prosperity. Yet, as often happens with those absorbed in worldly pursuits, heedless and attached to home, the force of time, difficult to overcome, passed by unnoticed. Vidura, perceiving the approach of fate, spoke earnestly to Dhritarashtra: “O King, it is time to depart; see how danger has arrived. There is no remedy to be found here, nor anywhere, nor at any time. This is Supreme Time, the Lord Himself, who comes for us all. Even those most dear, with whom we share our very lives, are overtaken by Him, and people are suddenly separated. What, then, of others—of wealth and possessions?” He continued, “Fathers, brothers, friends, sons—all have perished. Youth has fled; old age consumes your very being, and you now reside in another’s house. How great is the hope for life in a living being, that you, like a caretaker, accept the food left aside by Bhima. Fire has been set, gifts given, poison administered, wives dishonored, land and wealth stolen—how much remains for those who gave their lives for such things?” “Even your body, O pitiable one, though it desires to live, will depart against its will, worn out by old age, just as threadbare clothes are cast aside. One who, having lost all purpose for this body, becomes detached and freed from bonds, leaves it behind without concern for its fate—such a person is wise. He who, whether through his own realization or another’s prompting, becomes disillusioned and self-possessed, placing Hari in his heart, and leaves home—such a man is supreme.” “Therefore, set forth toward the north, unknown to others, for hereafter, time draws men away through the influence of the qualities.” Awakened by Vidura’s wisdom, King Dhritarashtra cut the strong bonds of affection for his kin and departed along the path shown by his brother. The virtuous Gandhari, daughter of Subala and ever devoted to her husband, followed him, laying aside her staff of authority, just as noble souls relinquish attachments at life’s end. Yudhishthira, known as Ajatashatru, made peace with all, performed fire sacrifices, honored the brahmins with gifts of sesame, cows, land, and gold, and then entered his house to pay respects to his elders. But he did not find his parents or Gandhari, the daughter of Subala. Finding Sanjaya seated there, Yudhishthira anxiously asked, “O Gavalgana, where is our aged father, now deprived of sight? And where is my mother, grieving for her slain sons? Where has my uncle, our friend, gone? Perhaps, thinking me lacking in wisdom and now bereft of kin, he has, with his wife, sought the Ganga, hoping for relief from sorrow.” Distressed, he continued, “After our father Pandu passed away, our uncles protected all our friends and children from calamity. Where have those protectors gone now, leaving us behind?” Suta said: Out of compassion and pain from their separation, Sanjaya, overwhelmed and unable to see the Lord within himself, could not reply, so deep was his affliction. Wiping his tears and steadying himself, Sanjaya remembered the Lord’s feet and answered Ajatashatru. He said, “O delight of your lineage, I do not know the decision of your parents or of Gandhari, O mighty-armed one; I have been deceived by these great souls.” At that moment, the venerable sage Narada arrived with Tumburu. Yudhishthira and his brothers rose to greet and honor him, worshipping the sage with reverence. Yudhishthira said, “O revered one, I do not know where my parents have gone, nor where my mother, grieving for her sons and devoted to austerity, has departed.” Then, like a helmsman guiding across the sea, the illustrious sage Narada, best among sages, spoke: “Just as cows are tied by their own ropes to a stake, so too are beings bound by names and words, carrying out their offerings for the Lord. The coming together and separation of playthings depend on the will of the player; so too, the unions and separations of people occur by the will of the Lord.” “What you consider as permanent or impermanent in this world is neither truly so; in any case, they are not to be grieved for, except due to attachment born of delusion. Therefore, O dear one, give up this weakness of heart, born of ignorance. How could those helpless and pitiable ones survive without me?” “This body, made of the five elements, is subject to time, action, and the modes of nature. How can one protect others, just as someone seized by a serpent cannot save another? The handless are food for the handed, the footless for the four-footed; among all, the weak are the sustenance of the strong—life lives upon life.” “O King, that Supreme Lord, the one Self of all selves, perceives Himself by Himself, dwelling both within and without; see Him, who appears through the power of His own illusion. This very Lord, O great King, the creator and sustainer of beings, has now descended in the form of Time, to bring about the destruction of the enemies of the gods.