News is brought to Dritarashtra that Draupadi has wed the Pandavas. Dritarashtra does not want to reveal his true feelings to Vidura. So he pretends that he is happy. Dritarashtra is like a pond whose waters are warm on the surface in summer, but whose waters are in fact cold as when one gets in deeper. Dritarashtra appears to nurture warm feelings towards the Pandavas, but in fact is furious because of his jealousy of the Pandavas, said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse. When Vidura leaves, Dritarashtra gives vent to his feelings. Bhishma says that just as Dritarashtra thinks he is entitled to the kingdom, so do the Pandavas think of the kingdom as theirs. As for Bhishma himself, he cannot discriminate between the sons of Dritarashtra and the sons of Pandu. So he suggests that half the kingdom be given to Duryodhana and the other half to Yudishtira. Dritarashtra then seeks the advice of Drona, who says that Arjuna cannot be defeated in war.
Karna’s advice is the opposite of that given by Drona and Bhishma. He tells Dritarashtra the story of a lazy king called Ambuvicha, who never paid attention to matters of state. Ambuvicha’s minister Mahakarni then took charge of everything, but was still unable to become the king. So whether one continues to be in power or not is a matter of destiny, and there was no need for Dritarashtra to have reservations about fighting the Pandavas. Vidura says that the Pandavas can never be defeated because Lord Krishna is on their side. Thus, here we find Dritarashtra, Duryodhana and Karna, all motivated by jealousy. Vidura, Bhishma and Drona offer valuable advice to jealous Dritarashtra, which he ignores.
