'The awareness of duty is the foundation of politics.'
'Duty implies respecting and..'
'..accepting others' rights.'
'Protecting a king's right is the duty of the subjects.'
'Protecting the rights of the subjects is the king's duty.'
'It is a two-way relationship.'
'It's not that Dhritrashtra is not aware of this.'
'But the king in him was subdued..'
'..by the father in him.'
'He was subservient to the father.'
'And it is no crime to think about the welfare of one's son.'
'In fact, it is every father's duty to do so.'
'The point is, what is more important? The son or the country?'
'Even Gandhari loved Duryodhan.'
'But she was not biased because of love.'
'She didn't want..'
'..the Pandavas to be treated unjustly.'
'Which is why she was worried..'
'..and afraid..'
'..that the king's love for Duryodhan..'
'..would spoil matters.'
'The king of Hastinapur is..'
'..anxiously waiting for Vidur.'
My respects.
You really made me wait!
Forgive me, O King.
I had just about reached home..
..when I received the message and returned.
What is it?
Be seated.
It is a serious matter.
How can I sit before my king does?
Do you always have to follow protocol, Vidur?
Who is here to see if you sit before or after I do?
Apart from me there is no one in here.
And I..
..am blind.
I too am here apart from you.
At least, sit now.
As you wish.
Why has Yudhishthir sent an ambassador?
You know that very well, Sire.
Why didn't he come himself?
Maybe he did not want to shame you.
I?
Why should I feel ashamed?
Did I not return his kingdom that he lost in a game of dice?
You remained silent..
..when Draupadi was disrobed.
You might not have returned the kingdom..
..had it not been for the fear of Draupadi's curse.
I swear by Lord Shiva, were you not my younger brother..
..I would have got you executed for uttering these words!
Vidur, are you accusing Bharat's descendent of cowardice?
No, Sire.
I am not accusing you of anything.
I am just doing my duty as the prime minister.
A minister's duty..
..is to tell his king the truth..
..without fearing his wrath.
And what is the truth?
Your welfare lies in Hastinapur's welfare.
If Hastinapur suffers..
..you will suffer as well.
O King..
..a country does not exist because of the king.
The king exists because of the country.
I know it!
I know all that.
The king belongs to the nation.
But to whom does the father belong?
Lord Brahma is the universal father, Sire.
Just like he belongs to everyone..
..a king cannot be his son's father alone.
All his subjects should be like his children, Sire.
You are also an elder uncle to the Pandavas.
Yudhishthir is still your eldest son.
Had brother Pandu not died..
..you could never have dreamt of making Duryodhan the king.
Therefore, Sire..
..listen to uncle.
Before the ambassador makes his demands..
..call back and bless the Pandavas..
..and return Indraprasth to them.
Yes, Sire.
Had Yudhishthir come himself..
..I would have crowned him with my hands and blessed him.
But he has sent an ambassador to his elder uncle.
So, I'll have to think..
..as to what reply I should give to Yudhishthir's ambassador.
But, Sire..
Let me think, Vidur.
Let me think.
Uncle.
Uncle, you are still awake?
Are you sleeping, my son?
Can Hastinapur's well-wishers sleep tonight?
Is it not unusual..
..that Yudhishthir has sent an ambassador to Dhritrashtra?
This is an unusual matter. It is unusual.
Listen carefully..
..and tell me..
..if you can hear the footsteps of impending destruction..
..following this ambassador.
Am I hearing things or is it something real?
Why do I feel as if I am standing in a field full of corpses?
Why do I feel that I am alone in this field of corpses? Why?
Uncle, you are not alone.
All of us are alone, Vidur.
You, me, sage Drona Kripacharya. All of us are alone.
Totally alone.
I was wondering how long a society would survive..
..after isolating its well-wishers.
Vidur, the question is very topical. It is very topical.
If it were not so, why are we both awake?
Why are you not home?
I had just reached home when I was..
..summoned by the king.
Summoned? Why?
To have me told..
..that had Yudhishthir come personally..
..he would have certainly returned Indraprasth to him.
But he has sent an ambassador.
Which is why, he will have to think about his reply.
Think about it? Think about it?
What is there to think about?
Maybe he is wondering..
..what sage Drona's..
..reaction will be who has been taking care of..
..Indraprasth for 13 years.
Indraprasth is a vast kingdom.
A vast kingdom.
Are you saying..
I am saying nothing.
I'm not saying anything.
Besides, what can I say?
It is all up to you.
You are the eldest Kuru.
Yes! I am the eldest Kuru.
But who accepts me as such?
No one seeks my advice or listens to me.
I am only a sound echoing in the wilderness. A mere sound.
Oh God!
Please protect my dear Hastinapur. Please protect it.
Please leave.
Now who will tell me if the crown is set properly on the head or not?
Before that, Lord, think about whether..
..the crown will remain on your head or not.
What?
Gandhari, what are you saying?
With whom do I share my feelings if not with you?
I too love Duryodhan.
He is my eldest son.
Had he been born at the right time..
..this tension that we see between my sons and Kunti's sons..
..may not have existed.
He would not have been forced to prove his right to the throne.
But he is younger to Yudhishthir..
..and the crown..
..adorning your head..
..actually belongs to his father Pandu.
But I am king Vichitravirya's eldest son!
Therefore..
How long will you try to prove it as an injustice?
Whatever happened was right.
That should have happened.
If you had become king at that time..
..you'd have remained under someone's influence..
..just as you're under Duryodhan's influence.
So, act like a true king at least once, O King.
Take the decision, which befits a king.
What do you want?
Don't ask about that.
I wish that..
..history would rank you with your ancestors.
I wish a long life for my sons.
I wish that history gives my sons the same respect..
..it will accord to Kunti's sons.
But I think..
..none of my wishes..
..will come true.
You..
You.. you.. Why do you say that?
I was awake all night.
Why?
Why were you awake?
I was wondering..
..whether you'll do justice or injustice.
Don't forget to return Indraprasth, my Lord.
I don't know if..
..after getting back Indraprasth..
..they will forget about Draupadi's disrobing.
But we can try..
..to make them forget this insult..
..so that they forgive my sons.
Present Yudhishthir's ambassador in the court.
As you wish, Sire.
Victory to the king.
O King, may you live long!
May your subjects be happy and prosperous!
O King, the royal priest of Panchal..
..brings greetings and a message..
..from your brother's son, emperor Yudhishthir.
Please convey my blessings to Yudhishthir when you return.
Now tell me, what is the message..
..which Yudhishthir could not convey personally?
He wishes to come here and pay obeisance to you.
He says, as per the bet he has completed..
..12 years of exile and one year of anonymity.
Now, with your permission, he would like to come..
..and take your blessings as well as his crown.
What crown, Priest?
I had breached their anonymity at Virat and had lost the war.
Go and tell them, that as per the bet..
..they should go into exile for 12 years without objection.
Didn't the Pandavas feel ashamed to send an ambassador?
What should I do, O King?
Let me think..
..as to what I should send Yudhishthir..
..apart from my blessings.
There is some confusion regarding the year of anonymity.
Some astronomers say that..
..the anonymity was over before the Virat war.
Others disagree and say it was not.
What do Bheeshma and sage Kripacharya say?
How dare you question us?
You are just an ambassador.
You have no right to ask questions.
Duryodhan, you should talk respectfully to those..
..who are older to you in age and knowledge.
A crown prince should not insult an ambassador.
When someone is talking to your father..
..as a son, you should not interrupt.
So, sit down.
Decency cannot be inherited.
You are very lucky, Priest.
You are a Brahmin as well as an ambassador.
Or else, you would have been penalized for insulting crown prince Duryodhan.
Go and tell emperor Yudhishthir..
..to go into exile for 12 years.
We will see after it gets over.
O King, it is surprising that..
..everyone else in the court speaks..
..with the exception of yourself.
On behalf of king Yudhishthir, I promise you..
..that if either Bheeshma, or sage Drona..
..or Kripacharya or noble Vidur openly admit that..
..the year of anonymity was not over..
..before the war between Arjun and Duryodhan..
..then the Pandavas will accept 12 years exile once again.
Sage Kripacharya your answer will decide..
..if there will be war or peace.
The positions of both the Sun and the Moon say..
..that the Pandavas' year of anonymity..
..was over before the Virat war.
Sage!
Don't be such an ungrateful person!
I don't care what the sun and moon say.
I, Duryodhan, son of Gandhari, say that..
..the Pandavas' anonymity was breached!
And what I say is the truth.
Then should I take this truth or untruth as the answer..
..to king Yudhishthir's message?
No. No.
Tell dear Yudhishthir..
..that very soon I will send a reply through my messenger.
Victory to the king.
Charioteer Sanjay wants to see you.
Yes. Call him.
As you wish.
Come, Sanjay.
You did not even give me time to pay obeisance.
There is no time for formalities.
Time is running out every minute..
..and I have no one else except you.
Everyone else has a selfish motive.
I am in danger of losing my crown..
..and I do not have the strength to protect myself.
Sire, why do you say this?
Because, Sanjay..
..I cannot live without all this.
Whatever ethics may say..
..but this throne is mine.
I am sitting on my throne.
And my son Duryodhan will sit on it after me.
May God grant you a long life!
After you, the crown will go to the crown prince.
His right will be protected by brave warriors like..
..Bheeshma, Dronacharya, Kripacharya, Ashwathama and Karna.
These warriors also fought the war at Virat.
None could face Arjun.
War is not to our advantage, Sanjay.
War is not advantageous for us.
What do you wish for me to do?
Go to Upaplavya as my ambassador.
Tell the Pandavas that they should..
..remain happily where they are.
None except Duryodhan opposes them here.
Karna encourages his stubbornness.
Shakuni fans the flames of hatred.
Dushasan worships him and agrees to whatever he says.
And I!
I am excessively fond of my son.
I keep satisfying his whims.
But he wants to defeat the Pandavas in war.
How can I satisfy that whim?
Who in the three worlds can dare..
..to challenge the Pandavas?
I hear that Abhimanyu is no less than Arjun.
The greatest problem is that..
..they are under Krishna's protection.
I am scared, Sanjay.
Very scared.
They won't aim their arrows at me..
..because they are men of ethics.
But what about Duryodhan?
No shield can protect him from Arjun's arrows.
It is also true..
..that Duryodhan had ordered..
..Draupadi's disrobing in my own royal assembly.
My son, Dushasan even tried to disrobe her.
It is also true, Sanjay..
..that Karna had called her a prostitute.
Forget about punishing him..
..I had not even closed my ears.
So, how can I tell the Pandavas..
..to forget all that has happened?
The day Arjun defeated the Hastinapur army at Virat..
..which included uncle, sage Drona and Kripacharya..
..I stopped deluding myself that..
..Duryodhan can ever defeat the Pandavas.
So, what remains but a truce?
But Duryodhan won't understand this.
Even if he tries to understand..
..Shakuni and Karna won't let him understand.
Therefore, O Sanjay..
..go to Upaplavya..
..and explain it to Yudhishthir.
He is the only one among the Pandavas..
..who has vanquished anger.
Tell him that his elder uncle..
..wants peace, not war.
Convince him.
If you can do that..
..you will have done me and Hastinapur a great favor.
As you wish, Sire.
But don't talk of favors.
How can I oblige you or Hastinapur?
I am myself obliged to both.
Allow me to leave.
Go and return successful.
My respects, Sanjay.
Sire, I am unworthy of such respect.
Sanjay, respect is not anyone's private property.
It is every man's wealth.
You are my uncle's charioteer and hence, worthy of respect.
I'll be a charioteer if there's a chariot.
Sanjay, first sit close to me.
Come.
Tell me how are uncle and aunty?
I wonder when I will see them again.
When will we come out of this mirage?
Only fate has an answer to these questions.
The king is well and sends his blessings.
How fortunate I am!
In spite of bitterness creating a rift..
..my uncle still has a blessing for me.
But you didn't tell me how aunty is!
Won't you ask about your own mother?
What is there to ask?
As Bharat dynasty's daughter-in-law, she must be well.
The Bharat dynasty cannot make the same mistake twice.
Grandsire won't stay quiet again.
Sages Drona and Kripacharya won't tolerate the same insult twice.
So, I'm not at all worried about my mother.
Yes.
Tell me, how's grandsire?
And how is my foolish brother Duryodhan?
Sire, all except Hastinapur, are well.
It is unhappy about the rift in the Kuru clan.
Even we are unhappy about that.
But you know that we did not sow the seed of this discord.
Whoever may have sowed it, but the tree is before us.
Sanjay, that tree is Duryodhan!
We will definitely chop off that tree!
Brother, this is not the language of peace.
If the king did not want peace..
..why did he send the royal priest of Panchal as an ambassador?
Krishna is right.
What answer have you brought back?
Before listening to the message..
..ask him who has sent it?
Is it from Dhritrashtra, who is the father of Duryodhan and Dushasan..
..or king Dhritrashtra of Hastinapur..
..or from our uncle Dhritrashtra?
All three are the same person.
How can that be?
They are not the same.
If they were the same then the Pandavas' uncle and the king..
..would have stopped Shakuni's treachery in the game of dice.
The man who was pleased at Duryodhan's victory..
..was Duryodhan's father Dhritrashtra.
The one who divided Hastinapur..
..was Duryodhan's father Dhritrashtra.
The man who witnessed daughter-in-law Draupadi's..
..disrobing was also Duryodhan's father.
There is no king on the throne of Hastinapur.
A father is seated there.
So, Arjun's question is relevant, Sanjay.
Tell us whose ambassador are you?
May be I am an ambassador of all three.
Krishna..
..my old eyes do not see a happy end.
Sanjay, first of all, tell us..
..what do your experienced eyes see?
They see a war.
And what a war!
On one side, under emperor Yudhishthir's flag..
..and your blessing, are king Drupad, prince Dhrishtadyumna..
..ace archer Arjun, expert mace wielder Bheem..
..valorous Nakul and Sahadev and brave Abhimanyu.
On the other side are brave warriors like Bheeshma..
..sage Drona, Kripacharya, Ashwathama..
..Duryodhan and Dushasan..
..and Karna.
O Krishna, both armies seem invincible to me.
Krishna, do you think..
..that because of the boon of summoning death at will..
..Bheeshma will be the lone survivor in a sea of corpses?
Sanjay, this is where your experience has gone wrong.
Ambassador Sanjay..
..when two armies fight..
..one of them is surely defeated.
But what can I do?
Whichever army loses..
..my heart will definitely be wounded.
Krishna..
..these princes have..
..played on my lap.
I have seen them as children.
I do not wish to see their corpses. No.
Who is talking of war?
Even we are looking for an option.
There still remains a peaceful option.
If uncle returns Indraprasth to us..
..we will try to forget everything.
Brother!
Don't interrupt your elder brother.
If we wanted war why would we send an ambassador?
We would have attacked Hastinapur with an army.
So, please tell us what proposal uncle has sent us?
I have not brought back any proposal.
I have only brought a blessing.
My king says you are all righteous people.
Be happy where you are.
Sanjay, we accept the blessing.
Tell him that our soul is in Indraprasth.
We can only be happy there.
Sanjay, the brave warriors you just named..
..are all respectable for us and had already faced Arjun at Virat.
We are indeed fortunate..
..that we were born in the era of Bheeshma..
..guru Drona and Kripacharya.
To touch their feet is as good as worship.
But that does not mean that if they side with evil..
..we will salute them and give up our rights!
Duryodhan is younger.
He may pay his respects and even ask for Indraprasth.
I may give it to him.
But tell him not to threaten us with the names..
..of Bheeshma and guru Drona!
Duryodhan's pride will vanquish when he faces Bheem.
So, Sanjay, tell uncle..
..that we are prepared for both war and peace.
If he wants war, there will be war.
If he desires peace, there will be peace.
"In the balance of truth is.."
"..both war and peace."
"Let us see now what happens.."
"..war is on the other shore."
"When the elders of the dynasty.."
"..forget the lesson of peace."
"Even truth itself.."
"..is caught mid-river."