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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 3: Chapter 1: Verses 27-39
Meeting of Uddhava and Vidura
Dear Uddhava, is our brother-in-law (sisters husband)[1],Vasudeva (son of Surasena), quite Vasudeva, who is the greatest friend and well-wisher of the Kurus, and who, like a father, liberally bestows on his sisters (Kunti and others) the gifts of their choice, bringing satisfaction (by offering rich presents) even to their husbands ? Again, dear friend, is that heroic Pradyumna, the generalissimo of the Yadava forces, quite well-Pradyumna, who was no other than the god of love in his previous incarnation and whom his mother Rukmini secured from the Lord by propitiating the Brahmanas? Is Ugrasena, the ruler of the Satvatas, Vrsnis, Bhojas and Dasarhas, prospering-Ugrasena, whom the lotus-eyed Lord (Sri Krsna) installed (on the throne of Mathura), even though he had stood aloof, having lost all hope of regaining the throne ? Is Sri Hari's (Sri Krsna's) son, Samba, who is the equal of his Father and the foremost of car-warriors, faring well, 0 gentle Uddhava-Samba, who is no other than the god Guha, whom Goddess Ambika (Parvati) bore in Her womb in the past and ,to whom Jambavat (the daughter of Jambavan and one of the eight principal consorts of Lord Sri Krsna) gave birth (once again) as a fruit of her religious observances? Is that Yuyudhana (Satyaki) quite happy, who received the secrets of bowmanship from Phalguna (Arjuna) and who easily secured through the mere service of Lord Adhoksaja (Sri Krsna) the position of His devotees, which is difficult of attainment even for ascetics ? Is the wise and sinless Akrura (son of Swaphalka) quite healthy-Akrura who is devoted to the Lord and who, beside himself with love, rolled about in the dust of the road marked with the footprints of Lord Sri Krsna ? Is all well with Devaki (daughter of Devaka, the chief of the Bhoja clan of Ksatriyas), who is as good a mother of Lord Visnu as Aditi (the mother of the gods), and who bore the Lord in her womb even as the three Vedas bear the extensive ritual (the elaborate details and procedure of the various sacrifices) as their import ? Is the divine Aniruddha (the grandson of Lord Sri Krsna) perfectly all right-Aniruddha, who grants the desires of His worshippers like you and whom the scriptures have declared as the source of the Vedas and the deity presiding over the mind (Manas), which constitutes the fourth part of the inner sense (which is a composite of four elements, viz., Citta, Ahankara, Buddhi and Manas)? And are other people such as Hrdika, (a Yadava chief), the sons of Satyabhama, Carudesna (Pradyumna's real brother)and Gada (a brother of Sri Krsna) faring well, 0 gentle Uddhava-people who are exclusively and fully devoted to Sri Krsna (the lord of their heart)?
[2]"Does king Yudhisthira (who is virtue personified) protect the law according to the principles of righteousness with the help of his two arms-Vijaya (Arjuna) and Acyuta (Lord Sri Krsna)--Yudhisthira, at the sight of whose imperial fortune and attendant glory in the court built by Maya (the architect of the demons) Duryodhana burned with jealousy ? Has Bhima, who is most relentless like a serpent, given up his long-standing grudge against those who wronged him, viz., the Kauravas-Bhima, whose tread the earth could not bear as he moved about on the battle-field revolving his mace in a variety of ways (while actually engaged in a fight)? Is Arjuna (the wielder of the Gandiva bow), the most renowned of leading car-warriors, now at peace with his enemies, (having subdued or destroyed them all)- Arjuna, who won the pleasure of Lord Siva, disguised as a Kirata (hunter) beyond all recognition, by hiding Him with a volley of his arrows ? Do the twin brothers (Nakula and Sahadeva), the foster-sons of Prtha--who enjoy the protection of their half-brothers (the sons of Prtha) even as the eye-balls are protected by the eyelashes-rejoice after recovering their ancestral share from the enemy's hands through the arbitrament of war as though a pair of Garudas had snatched nectar from the mouth of Indra (the wielder of a thunderbolt)?
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