Mahabharata 3.48.40-41

Devanāgarī

धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
यन् माब्रवीद् विदुरो द्यूतकाले; त्वं पाण्डवाञ् जेष्यसि चेन् नरेन्द्र ॥
ध्रुवं कुरूणाम् अयम् अन्तकालो; महाभयो भविता शोणितौघः ॥
मन्ये तथा तद् भवितेति सूत; यथा क्षत्ता प्राह वचः पुरा माम् ॥
असंशयं भविता युद्धम् एतद्; गते काले पाण्डवानां यथोक्तम् ॥

Transliteration (IAST)

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
yan mābravīd viduro dyūtakāle; tvaṃ pāṇḍavāñ jeṣyasi cen narendra ||
dhruvaṃ kurūṇām ayam antakālo; mahābhayo bhavitā śoṇitaughaḥ ||
manye tathā tad bhaviteti sūta; yathā kṣattā prāha vacaḥ purā mām ||
asaṃśayaṃ bhavitā yuddham etad; gate kāle pāṇḍavānāṃ yathoktam ||

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

धृतराष्ट्र उवाच यन् माब्रवीद् विदुरो द्यूतकाले; त्वं पाण्डवाञ् जेष्यसि चेन् नरेन्द्र ॥ ध्रुवं कुरूणाम् अयम् अन्तकालो; महाभयो भविता शोणितौघः ॥ मन्ये तथा तद् भवितेति सूत; यथा क्षत्ता प्राह वचः पुरा माम् ॥ असंशयं भविता युद्धम् एतद्; गते काले पाण्डवानां यथोक्तम् ॥dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca yan mābravīd viduro dyūtakāle; tvaṃ pāṇḍavāñ jeṣyasi cen narendra || dhruvaṃ kurūṇām ayam antakālo; mahābhayo bhavitā śoṇitaughaḥ || manye tathā tad bhaviteti sūta; yathā kṣattā prāha vacaḥ purā mām || asaṃśayaṃ bhavitā yuddham etad; gate kāle pāṇḍavānāṃ yathoktam ||Dhritarashtra recalls Vidura's warning during the game: if he lets the Pandavas be defeated, a bloody end will come for the Kurus; now he is certain that war will come after the term of exile.

Translation

Dhritarashtra said: 'I recall what Vidura told me during the game: "If you, O king, allow the Pandavas to be defeated, the end of the Kurus will surely come, a great terror and a flood of blood." I think, Suta, that it will indeed be as Kshatta told me before. Without doubt this war will come, when the term of the Pandavas has passed, just as it was foretold.'

Commentary

Vidura's warning becomes prophecy precisely because it went unheeded. Wisdom that is not heard does not vanish -- it returns as an inevitable fruit.

Version

a1dbcc1b5230 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:51:21 PM UTC

Available inRUEN