Mahabharata · 1.193.1–2
॥
Devanāgarī
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
अहम् अप्य् एवम् एवैतच् चिन्तयामि यथा युवाम् ॥
विवेक्तुं नाहम् इच्छामि त्व् आकारं विदुरं प्रति ॥
अतस् तेषां गुणान् एव कीर्तयामि विशेषतः ॥
नावबुध्येत विदुरो ममाभिप्रायम् इङ्गितैः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
aham apy evam evaitac cintayāmi yathā yuvām ||
vivektuṃ nāham icchāmi tv ākāraṃ viduraṃ prati ||
atas teṣāṃ guṇān eva kīrtayāmi viśeṣataḥ ||
nāvabudhyeta viduro mamābhiprāyam iṅgitaiḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अहम् अपि एवम् एव एतत् चिन्तयामि यथा युवाम्aham api evam eva etat cintayāmi yathā yuvām"I myself think about this exactly as you both do;
विवेक्तुं न अहम् इच्छामि तु आकारं विदुरं प्रतिvivektuṃ na aham icchāmi tu ākāraṃ viduraṃ pratibut I do not wish to reveal my appearance [/intention] before Vidura;
अतः तेषां गुणान् एव कीर्तयामि विशेषतःataḥ teṣāṃ guṇān eva kīrtayāmi viśeṣataḥtherefore I extol their virtues especially,
न अवबुध्येत विदुरः मम अभिप्रायम् इङ्गितैःna avabudhyeta viduraḥ mama abhiprāyam iṅgitaiḥlest Vidura discern my purpose from my movements [/hints];
धृतराष्ट्रdhṛtarāṣṭraoriginal form "dhṛtarāṣṭra", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
अप्य्apyoriginal form "apy", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
एवैतच्evaitacoriginal form "evaitac", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
नाहम्nāhamoriginal form "nāham", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
त्व्tvoriginal form "tv", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
अतस्atasoriginal form "atas", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
नावबुध्येतnāvabudhyetaoriginal form "nāvabudhyeta", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
विदुरोvidurooriginal form "viduro", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
ममाभिप्रायम्mamābhiprāyamoriginal form "mamābhiprāyam", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
Dhritarashtra said: "I myself think about this exactly as you both do; but I do not wish to reveal my intention before Vidura. Therefore I extol their virtues especially, lest Vidura discern my purpose from my movements."
Version
a5c24d55061d · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:54:01 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here the king's hypocrisy is laid bare: praise as the mask of a scheme. It is telling that Dhritarashtra confesses he praises the Pandavas only for show, while harboring malice — his mouth lies to cover his heart. Here it becomes clear that feigned virtue is worse than open evil, for it adds falsehood to wrong. Thus the text reveals the king's double-mindedness; and indulgence toward a son's malice makes him a party to the plot.