धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
सर्वथा पुत्र बलिभिर् विग्रहं ते न रोचये ॥
वैरं विकारं सृजति तद् वै शस्त्रम् अनायसम् ॥
अनर्थम् अर्थं मन्यसे राजपुत्र; संग्रन्थनं कलहस्यातिघोरम् ॥
तद् वै प्रवृत्तं तु यथा कथं चिद्; विमोक्षयेच् चाप्य् असिसायकांश् च ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
sarvathā putra balibhir vigrahaṃ te na rocaye ||
vairaṃ vikāraṃ sṛjati tad vai śastram anāyasam ||
anartham arthaṃ manyase rājaputra; saṃgranthanaṃ kalahasyātighoram ||
tad vai pravṛttaṃ tu yathā kathaṃ cid; vimokṣayec cāpy asisāyakāṃś ca ||
[Dhritarashtra:] "By all means, son, I do not approve of your quarrel with the powerful; enmity begets ruin — this is a weapon, though not made of iron. You consider calamity a benefit, O prince — this is the tying of a most cruel quarrel; and once it begins, in whatever way, it will bare both swords and arrows."
6ca9ed20b8e7 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:03:36 PM UTC
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Dhritarashtra sees clearly: "enmity is a weapon, though not made of iron," and a quarrel, once begun "in whatever way," will bare its blades. It is telling how precise the blind man's foresight is: he foretells the war born of the game with unerring accuracy. The verse teaches that evil is foreseeable: to the discerning, both the seed of discord and its bloody fruit are plain. But the tragedy is that clarity does not save without firmness: the very man who utters this prophecy will presently betray it. To know that the game will bare swords, and yet to permit the game — this is the extremity of weak will. Foresight without the will to act on it only multiplies guilt: one who is forewarned and yet yields is more culpable than one who does not know.