Adi Parva - Sambhava Parva 45

"Vaisampayana said, 'Upon the birth of those three children, Kurujangala,
Kurukshetra, and the Kurus grew in prosperity. The earth began to yield
abundant harvest, and the crops also were of good flavour. And the clouds
began to pour rain in season and trees became full of fruits and flowers.
And the draught cattle were all happy and the birds and other animals
rejoiced exceedingly. And the flowers became fragrant and the fruits
became sweet; the cities and towns became filled with merchants,
artisans, traders and artists of every description. And the people became
brave, learned, honest and happy. And there were no robbers then, nor
anybody who was sinful. And it seemed that the golden age had come upon
every part of the kingdom. And the people devoted to virtuous acts,
sacrifices and truth, and regarding one another with love and affection
grew in prosperity. And free from pride, wrath and covetousness, they
rejoiced in perfectly innocent sports. And the capital of the Kurus, full
as the ocean, was a second Amaravati, teeming with hundreds of palaces
and mansions, and possessing gates and arches dark as the clouds. And men
in great cheerfulness sported constantly on rivers, lakes and tanks, and
in fine groves and charming woods. And the southern Kurus, in their
virtuous rivalry with their northern kinsmen, walked about in the company
of Siddhas and Charanas and Rishis. And all over that delightful country
whose prosperity was thus increased by the Kurus, there were no misers
and no widowed women. And the wells and lakes were ever full; the groves
abounded with trees, and the houses and abodes of Brahmanas were full of
wealth and the whole kingdom was full of festivities. And, O king,
virtuously ruled by Bhishma, the kingdom was adorned with hundreds of
sacrificial stakes. And the wheel of virtue having been set in motion by
Bhishma, and the country became so contented that the subjects of other
kingdoms, quitting their homes, came to dwell there and increase its
population. And the citizens and the people were filled with hope, upon
seeing the youthful acts of their illustrious princes. And, O king, in
the house of the Kuru chiefs as also of the principal citizens, 'give',
'eat' were the only words constantly heard. And Dhritarashtra and Pandu
and Vidura of great intelligence were from their birth brought up by
Bhishma, as if they were his own sons. And the children, having passed
through the usual rites of their order, devoted themselves to vows and
study. And they grew up into fine young men skilled in the Vedas and all
athletic sports. And they became well-skilled in the practice of bow, in
horsemanship, in encounters with mace, sword and shield, in the
management of elephants in battle, and in the science of morality.
Well-read in history and the Puranas and various branches of learning,
and acquainted with the truths of the Vedas and their branches they
acquired knowledge, which was versatile and deep. And Pandu, possessed of
great prowess, excelled all men in archery while Dhritarashtra excelled
all in personal strength, while in the three worlds there was no one
equal to Vidura in devotion to virtue and in the knowledge of the
dictates of morality. And beholding the restoration of the extinct line
of Santanu, the saying became current in all countries that among mothers
of heroes, the daughters of the king of Kasi were the first; that among
countries Kurujangala was the first; that among virtuous men, Vidura was
the first; that among cities Hastinapura was the first. Pandu became
king, for Dhritarashtra, owing to the blindness, and Vidura, for his
birth by a Sudra woman, did not obtain the kingdom. One day Bhishma, the
foremost of those acquainted with the duties of a statesman and dictates
of morality, properly addressing Vidura conversant with the truth of
religion and virtue, said as follows."