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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 3: Chapter 1: Verses 14-26
Meeting of Uddhava and Vidura
Vidura had a disposition which was coveted even by saints. But, when he uttered these words on that spot, the anger of Duryodhana and his companions-Kama, Duhsasana (Duryodhana's younger brother) and Sakuni (son of Subala and Duryodhana's maternal uncle )-knew no bounds. Their lips began to quiver and Duryodhana insultingly interposed :"Who has called this crooked son of a maid-servant here ? Hostilely disposed towards the master (myself) on whose crumbs he has grown fat, he works for the enemy's cause. Although his life may be spared, he should be banished from my capital at once." Cut to the quick by these most poignant words, which pierced his ears like shafts, in the presence of his brother (king Dhrtarastra), but recognizing the greatness of the Lord's Maya (deluding potency) Vidura did not feel the least perturbed in mind and quietly left the palace himself, depositing his bow at the gate. Vidura, whose birth in the race of Kurus had been secured as a result of great merit (who was an acquisition to the race of Kuru), departed from Hastinapura and, with a view to acquiring religious merit, undertook a pilgrimage to all holy places on the earth's surface, sacred to the Lord whose feet are ever hallowed, and where the Lord resides in a thousand and one forms (images). Unaccompanied by anyone else, he visited on foot cities, sacred groves, mountains, bowers, rivers and lakes containing limpid water and holy places graced with the Lord's images. He perambulated the earth in the garb of a recluse, so that he could not be recognized by his own people, lived on pure food such as fruits etc., dropped from trees, bathed in all sacred waters without exception, slept on the ground, never made his toilet, andobserved vows that pleased Sri Hari.
While he was yet travelling in the land of Bharatavarsa and reached Prabhasa (near Dwaraka), king Yudhisthira (son of Prtha) had established himself, with the help of Sri Krsna as the universal and undisputed sovereign of the entire globe. There (at Prabhasa) he heard how his kinsmen (the Kauravas) had perished due to mutual jealousy even as a thicket of bamboos is consumed by fire produced by the friction of one bamboo against another. Grieving over the holocaust, therefore, he quietly repaired to the bank of the Saraswati where it flows in a westerly direction. On the bank of that river he (visited and) stayed at (eleven) different spots-severally sacred to the memory of the sages Trita, Usana (the father of Sukracarya) and Asita, Swayambhuva Manu, king Prthu, the god of fire, the wind. god, king Sudasa, the cows, Guha (god Kartikeya,the eldest son of Lord Siva) and king Sraddhadeva (Vaivaswata Manu)-and many other sanctuaries in this area, consecrated to Lord Visnu, founded by holy sages and gods and containing temples that bore on their domes the mark of Sudarsana, the chief of His weapons, the very sight of which reminded one of Lord Sri Krsna. Journeying thence through the prosperous land of Saurastra and the kingdoms of Sauvira, Matsya and Kuru-Jangala, he reached in due course the bank of the Yamuna, where he came across Uddhava, another great devotee of the Lord. Vidura fondly clasped in close embrace this celebrated servant of Lord Sri Krsna (son of Vasudeva)-who had attained perfect serenity of mind and was an erstwhile pupil of the sage Brhaspati (the preceptor of the gods)-and enquired of him the welfare of his relations (the Yadavas), the proteges of the Lord:- "The two Primal Persons (Sri Balarama and Sri Krsna) appeared (in human semblance) on this globe in response to the prayer of Brahma, who was born of the very lotus that had sprung from the Lord's own navel. Having relieved the earth of its burden and brought delight to the whole world, are they doing well in the house of Surasena (the father of happy-Vasudeva)?
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