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Vaisampayana continued, "Hearing these words of the king, the exalted son of Parasara, the island-born Vyasa of dark hue, spoke these words, 'For thirteen years, O king, those portents will bear mighty consequences ending in destruction, O king of kings, of all the Kshatriyas.
We would fain see something that had met the eyes of the island-born child in the first years of his coming to his foreign home. We would fain see even the church of Robert of Grantmesnil, much more the elder church from which the High Chancellor of Duke Hugh the Great carried away the body of Saint Evroul himself, as a piece of holy spoil which Normandy had to yield to France.
King Dhritarashtra, finding them silent, with their throats choked by grief, once more addressed them, saying, "Ye best of men, old as I am, sonless, and indulging, through cheerlessness of heart, in diverse lamentations along with this my wedded wife, I have obtained the permission, in the matter of my retirement into the forest, of my sire, the Island-born Krishna himself, as also of king Yudhishthira, who is conversant with every duty, ye righteous denizens of this kingdom.
Very soon waking up from his slumber, he went through the necessary rites of cleansing his body, and though surrounded by those beautiful women, he once again devoted himself to Yoga. It was in this way, O Bharata, that the son of the Island-born Krishna passed the latter part of that day and the whole of that night in the palace of king Janaka.""
"Vaisampayana said, 'Unto king Yudhishthira who still remained speechless and plunged in grief, the island-born Vyasa, that great ascetic, conversant with truths of religion, spoke again. "'Vyasa said, "O thou of eyes like lotus petals, the protection of subjects is the duty of kings. Those men that are always observant of duty regard duty to be all powerful.
Nothing will be gained by keeping him alive. Hearing these words of Dhrishtadyumna, the grandson of Sini, that great car-warrior, uplifting his sharp sword, prepared to slay me. By no means should he be slain!" Hearing these words of the Island-born, the grandson of Sini, joined his hands, and then, setting me free said unto me, "Peace to thee, O Sanjaya, thou mayest go hence!"
He then duly performed the Sraddhas of all those deceased kinsmen of his. The king, in honour of Hari and naming him repeatedly, fed the Island-born Vyasa, and Narada, and Markandeya possessed of wealth of penances, and Yajnavalkya of Bharadwaja's race, with many delicious viands.
Having represented all this unto the Island-born Krishna, the king endued with great eloquence approached Vasudeva and said, "O foremost of all beings, the goddess Devaki has, through thee, come to be regarded as the most fortunate of mothers! O thou of unfading glory, do thou accomplish that which I shall now tell thee, O mighty-armed one.
Death is felt by all creatures to be fraught with pain. Life is an acquisition difficult to make. Hence, I fly away in fear, I do not wish to pass from a state of happiness to one of woe." "'Bhishma continued, "Thus addressed, the Island-born Vyasa said, 'O worm, whence can be thy happiness? Thou belongest to the intermediate order of being. I think, death would be fraught with happiness to thee!
"Vaisampayana continued, 'It was thus that the arranger of the Vedas, endued with great intelligence, discoursed to us, questioned by us on that occasion. Our preceptor, with ourselves, O king, then adored the great Deity with Richs extracted from the four Vedas. I have thus told thee everything about what thou hadst asked me. It was thus, O king, that our Island-born preceptor discoursed to us.
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