thira was the eldest. The news of Duryodhana's birth was carried to Bhisma and the wise Vidura. The day that the haughty Duryodhana was born was also the birth-day of Bhima of mighty arms and great prowess.
"As soon as Duryodhana was born he began to cry and bray like an ass. And hearing that sound, the asses, vultures, jackals, and crows uttered their respective cries responsively. Violent winds began to blow, and there were fires in various directions. Then king Dhrita-rashtra in great fear summoning Bhisma, and Vidura, and other well-wishers and all the Kurus, and numberless Brahmanas, addressed them and said, 'The eldest of the princes, Yudhish-thira, is the perpetuator of our line. By virtue of his birth he hath acquired the kingdom. We have nothing to say to this. But shall this my son born after him become king? Tell me truly what is lawful and right under these circumstances.' As soon as these words were spoken, O Bharata, jackals and other carnivorous animals began to howl ominously. And marking those frightful omens all around, the assembled Brahmanas and the wise Vidura replied, 'O king, O thou bull among men, when these frightful omens are noticeable at the birth of thy eldest son, it is evident that he shall be the exterminator of thy race. The prosperity of all dependeth on his abandonment. Calamity there must be in keeping him. O king, if thou abandonest him, there remain yet for thee nine and ninety sons! If thou desirest the good of thy race, abandon him, O Bharata! O king, do good to the world and thy own race by casting off this one child of thine! It hath been said that the individual should be cast off for the sake of the family; that the family should be cast off for the sake of the village; that the village may be abandoned for the sake of the whole country; and that the earth itself may be abandoned for the sake of the soul.' When Vidura and those Brahmanas had said so, king Dhrita-rashtra from affection for his son had not the heart to follow that advice. Then, O king, within a month, were born a full hundred sons unto Dhrita-rashtra and a daughter also in excess of this hundred. And during the time when Gandhari was in a state of advanced pregnancy, there was a
