Vidhura is the brother of Pandhu and Drtatrastra. However, because he was the son of a maidservant, he didn’t have a claim to the throne, although he was raised in the palace and educated in the military science just like his brothers.

Different from Drtarastra, Vidhura was a pure devotee. He was an incarnation of Yamaraja, who, under the pretext of being cursed to take birth as a sudra, had come to take part in Krsna’s pastimes. While he was present on Earth, Aryamā officiated at his post, punishing the sinful souls. It’s important to understand that just like in the case of other demigods, “Yamaraja” is actually the name of a post, and not directly the name of a person, just like “Indra” or “Surya”. Different souls can take up the post and perform the functions, just like different persons may occupy the post of president at different times.

Vidhura protested the mistreatment of the Pandavas, advising Drtarastra to abandon his envy of them, and instead get rid of Duryodhana, who was offense personified. Drtarastra however was too attached to his son and thus didn’t react to his words.

Duryodhana then used the opportunity to expel Vidhura from the palace which he gladly accepted, understanding that there was nothing he could do for his brother at the time and that it would be thus better to go out on pilgrimage, using his time to visit holy places and meet saintly persons.

Vidhura returning to the palace happened shortly after the disappearance of Krsna before the Pandavas had received the news. Vidhura already knew Krsna had left the planet and thus was anxious to save his brother Drtarastra, helping him to return back home, back to Godhead before it was too late. To avoid a commotion, he decided to not say anything about the disappearance of Krsna to the Pandavas, understanding that they would receive the news sooner or later. Instead, he focused on his main mission of helping his brother.

It’s described that when Vidhura arrived at the palace, everyone surrounded him, crying out of affection. Vidhura was a very senior and respected person, and to see him after so many years was for them just like returning to life.

Vidhura described everything, except the news of the disappearance of Krsna and the Yadu dynasty, since he could not bear seeing the Pandavas distressed. Vidhura stayed there for several days with the purpose of enlightening his blind brother.

Although he was the oldest of the three brothers, Drtarastra was unfit to sit on the throne since the beginning, because he was blind. For a long time, he nourished the idea of making his son Duryodhana the king, and thus he became implicated in all the intrigues made against the Pandavas. Now, after losing all his sons in the battle of Kuruksetra, he was being maintained by the Pandavas, whom he considered enemies and tried to kill so many times in the past. At this point, he was also very old and suffering from different health problems. Death was certainly close.

Still, somehow, he was living comfortably in the palace out of the charity of the Pandavas. Being the oldest uncle of Maharaja Yudhisthira, he imagined himself as the emperor and remained attached to material life, just like an ordinary man. Vidhura took compassion on seeing the situation of his brother and desired to help him. All his other activities in the palace were secondary. His mission was to rescue his brother.

Being surrounded by the Pandavas and so many other people, there was no opportunity for Vidhura to speak alone to Drtarastra. Still, as soon as he had the opportunity, he addressed Drtarastra, speaking strongly, although in the presence of others:

“My dear King, please get out of here immediately. Do not delay. Just see how fear has overtaken you.
This frightful situation cannot be remedied by any person in this material world. My lord, it is the Supreme Personality of Godhead as eternal time [kāla] that has approached us all.
Whoever is under the influence of supreme kāla [eternal time] must surrender his most dear life, and what to speak of other things, such as wealth, honor, children, land and home.
Your father, brother, well-wishers and sons are all dead and passed away. You yourself have expended the major portion of your life, your body is now overtaken by invalidity, and you are living in the home of another. You have been blind from your very birth, and recently you have become hard of hearing. Your memory is shortened, and your intelligence is disturbed. Your teeth are loose, your liver is defective, and you are coughing up mucus.” (SB 1.13.18-22)

Vidhura calls Drtarastra “king” in a sarcastic way. He is not and was never a king, but he sees himself as so, which is another illusion. At this stage, soft words would not help Drtarastra, therefore Vidhura decided to expose the naked truth, in the hope that Drtarastra would come to his senses. It becomes heavier:

“Alas, how powerful are the hopes of a living being to continue his life. Verily, you are living just like a household dog and are eating remnants of food given by Bhīma.” (1.13.23)

Bhima was specially mentioned by Vidhura because he was responsible for killing all the 100 sons of Drtarastra during the battle of Kuruksetra. Even for a common person, it would be almost impossible to live from the charity of a person who killed all his sons, but for a Ksatriya it was inconceivable. Still, due to his material attachment, Drtarastra was shamelessly living in such a condition. Although the Pandavas had respect for his uncle and were treating him properly, according to etiquette, the whole situation should have been extremely humiliating for him. Still, because of his attachment to royal life, he was somehow accepting it. In this way, this whole incident shows us how pathetic and miserable a materialist becomes as death approaches.

Instead of becoming attached to this world and making plans to live here indefinitely, we should prepare for what comes next. Death is a test that everyone has to face in due time, and the result of this test will determine where we are going to go next. The more attached we become to materialistic life, the less prepared we will be for this ultimate test, and as a result, materialists often find themselves in very unpleasant situations after death. A devotee on the other hand prepares all his life, and thus can easily pass the test and return home, back to Godhead.

That’s one of the reasons in the Varnasrama system people are recommended to renounce family life around the age of 50 and dedicate the final part of their lives to traveling to holy places and focusing on their spiritual practice, instead of remaining attached householders, like Drtarastra. However, as Srila Prabhupada mentions in the Bhagavad-Gita, if one is successful in establishing a Krsna Conscious atmosphere at home, he doesn’t necessarily have to leave, since his family life will not be contradictory to his spiritual advancement.

It was impossible for Drtarastra to become a pure devotee at this stage, because of all the offenses he committed against the Pandavas. It was also not possible for him to become fixed in the principles of Sannyasa. Vidhura thus tried to at least make him a Dhira, convincing him to abandon his wretched material position with determination. He also hints at the fact that Kali-Yuga is starting, and the situation of the world will not become any better from that point onwards.

The strategy of Vidhura worked. Drtarastra became convinced and immediately left the palace without telling anyone. Where did Drtarastra go? He went to the Himalayas, the shelter of all types of renounced sages who renounced the world. Even today there are still some yogis and sages living in the lower parts of the Himalayas, where the temperatures allow, but at those times it was much more common. It’s described that these sages would accept the difficulties with enthusiasm, just like Ksatriyas would become even more determined to fight after being struck by an enemy.

Vidhura understood Drtarastra would not be able to follow the process of pure devotional service due to all his offenses, and thus he made a compromise by instructing Drtarastra to practice the process of astanga-yoga, mechanically fixing his mind, and thus being able to attain impersonal liberation. After everything that happened, it was the most it could be expected from him.

When Narada Muni described the situation to Yudhisthira Maharaja, the process was still ongoing. Drtarastra was practicing, but would still have to conclude the process before leaving his body. Narada Muni however could already foresee what was going to happen and thus revealed the conclusion to Yudhisthira to discourage him from going after his uncle:

“O King, he will quit his body, most probably on the fifth day from today. And his body will turn to ashes.
While outside observing her husband, who will burn in the fire of mystic power along with his thatched cottage, his chaste wife will enter the fire with rapt attention. Vidura, being affected with delight and grief, will then leave that place of sacred pilgrimage.” (SB 1.13.57-59)

No intervention was necessary. Drtarastra would leave his body by evoking the fire element from within. The fire would also burn the cottage they were living in, and seeing his husband leaving, Gandhari (who was no less an ascetic than any of the other personalities from the Mahabharata) would voluntarily enter the fire and attain the same destination as her husband. In this way, there would be no bodies left to be disposed, of and no property to be taken. Vidhura would also leave the place as soon as everything was concluded and continue his pilgrimage, therefore there was also nothing to be done for him.