Mahabharata · 2.66.36–37
॥
Devanāgarī
अथाब्रवीन् महाराजो गान्धारीं धर्मदर्शिनीम् ॥
अन्तः कामं कुलस्यास्तु न शक्ष्यामि निवारितुम् ॥
यथेच्छन्ति तथैवास्तु प्रत्यागच्छन्तु पाण्डवाः ॥
पुनर्द्यूतं प्रकुर्वन्तु मामकाः पाण्डवैः सह ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
athābravīn mahārājo gāndhārīṃ dharmadarśinīm ||
antaḥ kāmaṃ kulasyāstu na śakṣyāmi nivāritum ||
yathecchanti tathaivāstu pratyāgacchantu pāṇḍavāḥ ||
punardyūtaṃ prakurvantu māmakāḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ saha ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथ अब्रवीन् महा-राजो गान्धारीं धर्म-दर्शिनीम्atha abravīn mahā-rājo gāndhārīṃ dharma-darśinīmThen the great king said to Gandhari, who perceives dharma:
अन्तः कामं कुलस्य अस्तु न शक्ष्यामि निवारितुम्antaḥ kāmaṃ kulasya astu na śakṣyāmi nivāritum'Let the end of the lineage come, if it must be -- I shall not be able to prevent it;
यथा इच्छन्ति तथा एव अस्तु प्रत्यागच्छन्तु पाण्डवाःyathā icchanti tathā eva astu pratyāgacchantu pāṇḍavāḥlet it be as they wish; let the Pandavas return;
पुनर्-द्यूतं प्रकुर्वन्तु मामकाः पाण्डवैः सहpunar-dyūtaṃ prakurvantu māmakāḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ sahalet my sons play the game again together with the Pandavas.'
अथाब्रवीन्athābravīnoriginal form "athābravīn", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
महाराजोmahārājooriginal form "mahārājo", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
धर्मदर्शिनीम्dharmadarśinīmoriginal form "dharmadarśinīm", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
कुलस्यास्तुkulasyāstuoriginal form "kulasyāstu", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
यथेच्छन्तिyathecchantioriginal form "yathecchanti", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
तथैवास्तुtathaivāstuoriginal form "tathaivāstu", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
पुनर्द्यूतंpunardyūtaṃoriginal form "punardyūtaṃ", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
Then the great king said to Gandhari, who perceives dharma: "Let the end of the lineage come, if it must be -- I shall not be able to prevent it. Let it be as they wish; let the Pandavas return; let my sons play the game again together with the Pandavas."
Version
a06e5f89c2ce · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
More terrible than any villainy is the powerlessness of the weak: "I shall not be able to prevent it." Dhritarashtra sees and names the coming ruin of the lineage, and still surrenders it to that ruin, hiding behind a supposed inevitability. But fate did not compel him -- he himself renounced his own power to avert disaster, turning faintheartedness into a semblance of destiny. Here it is exposed that connivance at evil is complicity in it: one who has the power to stop something and says "I cannot" is choosing not to stop it. The verse teaches that a ruler's weakness of will is more destructive than active malice; that an appeal to inevitability is often only an excuse for unwillingness to resist; and that one who abandons duty for the sake of peace or love becomes the author of everything he could have prevented but did not.