672 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 13

Before the Battle of Kuruksetra, Dhrtarastra’s policy was peaceful
annihilation of his nephews, and therefore he ordered Purocana to build a
house at Varanavat, and when the building was finished Dhrtarastra desired
that his brother’s family live there for some time. When the Pandavas were
going there in the presence of all the members of the royal family,
Vidura tactfully gave instructions to the Pandavas about the future plan of
Dhrtarastra. This is specifically described in the Mahabharata (Ch.144 Adi-
parva). He indirectly hinted, “A weapon not made of steel or any other
material element can be more than sharp to kill an enemy, and he who
knows this is never killed.” That is to say, he hinted that the party of the
Pandavas was being sent to Varanavat to be killed, and thus he warned
Yudhisthira to be very careful in their new residential palace. He also gave
indications of fire and said that fire cannot extinguish the soul, but it can
annihilate the material body. But one who protects the soul can live.
Kunti could not follow such indirect conversations between Maharaja
Yudhisthira and Vidura, and thus when she inquired from her son about
the purport of the conversation, Yudhisthira replied that from the talks of
Vidura it was understood that there was a hint of fire in the house where
they were proceeding. Later on, Vidura came in disguise to the Pandavas
and informed them that the housekeeper was going to set fire to the house
on the fourteenth night of the waning moon. It was an intrigue of
Dhrtarastra that the Pandavas might die all together with their mother.
And by his warning the Pandavas escaped through a tunnel underneath
the earth so that their escape was also unknown to Dhrtarastra, so much so
that after setting the fire, the Kauravas were so certain of the death of the
Pandavas that Dhrtarastra performed the last rites of death with great
cheerfulness. And during the mourning period all the members of the
palace became overwhelmed with lamentation, but Vidura did not become
so, because of his knowledge that the Pandavas were alive somewhere.
There are many such instances of calamities, and in each of them Vidura
gave protection to the Pandavas on one hand, and on the other he tried
to restrain his brother Dhrtarastra from such intriguing policies. Therefore,
he was always partial to the Pandavas, just as a bird protects its eggs by
his wing.

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