Then the wicked Duryodhana, guided by the
counsels of Sakuni (his maternal uncle), persecuted the Pandavas in
various ways for the acquirement of undisputed sovereignty. The wicked son
of Dhritarashtra gave poison to Bhima, but Bhima of the stomach of the
wolf digested the poison with the food. Then the wretch again tied the
sleeping Bhima on the margin of the Ganges and, casting him into the water,
went away. But when Bhimasena of strong arms, the son of Kunti woke, he
tore the strings with which he had been tied and came up, his pains all
gone. And while asleep and in the water black snakes of virulent poison
bit him in every part of his body. But that slayer of foes did not still
perish. And in all those persecutions of the Pandavas by their cousins,
the Kurus, the high-minded Vidura attentively engaged himself neutralising
those evil designs and rescuing the persecuted ones. And as Sakra from the
heavens keeps in happiness the world of men, so did Vidura always keep the
Pandavas from evil.
"When Duryodhana, with various means, both secret and open, found himself
incapable of destroying the Pandavas who were protected by the fates and
kept alive for grave future purposes (such as the extermination of the
Kuru race), then called together his counsellors consisting of Vrisha
(Karna), Duhsasana and others, and with the knowledge of Dhritarashtra
caused a house of lac to be constructed. And king Dhritarashtra, from
affection for his children, and prompted by the desire of sovereignty,
sent the Pandavas tactfully into Varanavata.
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