State, Yudhishthira consulted
DHRITARASHTRA
Dhritarashtra and conducted himself so as
to give him the feeling that in truth the
kingdom was ruled on his behalf and that
he, as the eldest member of the family,
was still the supreme authority.
Yudhishthira was most careful in his
speech, never to allow himself to say
anything to cause pain to the bereaved old
man. The princes, who came to
Hastinapura from all parts of the world,
gave Dhritarashtra the same honors; as
they did of old, as if he were still the
emperor.
The women attendants gave Gandhari no
occasion to feel her fallen estate.
Yudhishthira had instructed his brothers
most strictly that nothing should be done
to cause the slightest pain to their uncle,
who had lost all his sons.
The brothers, with perhaps the exception
of Bhima, followed this injunction
faithfully. Dhritarashtra too conducted
103.
FIFTEEN years passed under king
Yudhishthira's reign, when old
Dhritarashtra found himself utterly unable
any longer to bear the burden of grief.
Hurt by Bhima's occasional reproaches, he
found no heart to accept the courtesies and
comforts provided under king
Yudhishthira's orders. Unknown to the
Pandavas, he secretly fasted and
underwent hard penances.
Gandhari too observed manifests and
inflicted privation on her. And one day
Dhritarashtra sent for Dharmaputra and
spoke to him thus:
"Son, blessings on you. I have spent
fifteen happy years under your roof. You
have tended me most lovingly. I have
made gifts and offerings to ancestors and
fulfilled all my desires in that respect.
Bereaved Gandhari, laying aside her own
grief, has ministered to my physical wants
all these years. My cruel sons, who