Chapter VIII - 29 | Home | Index | Previous | Next |
Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva obeyed their brother's order and sent troops in all directions. They rummaged all the roads, lanes and by-lanes, peeped into wells, searched in all tanks and lakes, but could find no trace of the blind couple. Believing that they must have fallen into the Ganges, they got experts to scour the banks and even dive into the waters to discover their fate. All their efforts were in vain. So, the Pandava brothers were sunk in grief that they could not save the king and queen from that horrid fate. Meanwhile, Dhritharashtra and Gandhari were joyfully contemplating on God, seated in prescribed postures with their mind rigorously under control. When they were thus lost in divine contemplation and immersed in that supreme joy, a huge forest fire swept along, consuming them too in its fierce onslaught. Vidura had a great desire to cast off his body at the holy centre of Prabhasakshethra and so, he escaped the fire and filled with joy at the immense good fortune of the couple, he continued his pilgrimage and reached the place which he had chosen as the scene of his exit. There, he cast off his body which was composed of the five elements, and which, therefore, was material and momentary. |