Taking Counsel

The thirteen years complete, the Pāṇḍavas shed their disguises and settled openly in the city of Upaplavya in the Matsya land, and sent word to their friends and kinsmen; and they came. Krishna and his brother Balarāma came from Dvārakā, with Subhadrā and the young hero Abhimanyu; Drupada of Pānchāla came with his forces, and Shikhaṇḍī, and Draupadī's sons. And the wedding of Abhimanyu to Virāṭa's daughter Uttarā was celebrated, binding the houses of Matsya and Pānchāla and the Yādavas into a single alliance.

Then the kings met in council to decide their course, and Krishna rose and set the matter fairly before them. He reminded them that Yudhishthira had been cheated at the dice and robbed of his rightful kingdom, and that justice was wholly on the Pāṇḍavas' side; and yet, he said, Yudhishthira had no desire for bloodshed, and the right course was to send an able envoy to Hastināpura to seek a peaceful settlement, the return of half the kingdom, without war.

But the council was divided, and the division is worth marking. Balarāma supported peace, but in doing so he faulted Yudhishthira, saying that he had gambled obstinately against all warning and so should now go humbly and beg for his rights. And this stung Sātyaki, who rose in indignation and declared that Yudhishthira was no beggar and need beg from no one; that to let the Kauravas keep the stolen kingdom would be like confirming a thief in his theft; and that they should prepare for war at once.

And Drupada took Sātyaki's side, saying that soft words would never move Duryodhana, and that while they might send an envoy to fulfil the forms of diplomacy, they must at the same time prepare for war with all their strength. And Krishna agreed with this course, and, having ties of affection with both sides, returned to Dvārakā, leaving Drupada's envoy to carry the formal terms of peace to Hastināpura, while both sides made ready for war.