त्वं ह्य् एवात्र भृशं गर्ह्यो धृतराष्ट्र सुतप्रियः ॥
यो जानन् पापताम् अस्य तत्प्रज्ञाम् अनुवर्तसे ॥
स एष काममन्युभ्यां प्रलब्धो मोहम् आस्थितः ॥
अशक्यो ऽद्य त्वया राजन् विनिवर्तयितुं बलात् ॥
राज्यप्रदाने मूढस्य बालिशस्य दुरात्मनः ॥
दुःसहायस्य लुब्धस्य धृतराष्ट्रो ऽश्नुते फलम् ॥
कथं हि स्वजने भेदम् उपेक्षेत महामतिः ॥
भिन्नं हि स्वजनेन त्वां प्रसहिष्यन्ति शत्रवः ॥
या हि शक्या महाराज साम्ना दानेन वा पुनः ॥
निस्तर्तुम् आपदः स्वेषु दण्डं कस् तत्र पातयेत् ॥
tvaṃ hy evātra bhṛśaṃ garhyo dhṛtarāṣṭra sutapriyaḥ ||
yo jānan pāpatām asya tatprajñām anuvartase ||
sa eṣa kāmamanyubhyāṃ pralabdho moham āsthitaḥ ||
aśakyo 'dya tvayā rājan vinivartayituṃ balāt ||
rājyapradāne mūḍhasya bāliśasya durātmanaḥ ||
duḥsahāyasya lubdhasya dhṛtarāṣṭro 'śnute phalam ||
kathaṃ hi svajane bhedam upekṣeta mahāmatiḥ ||
bhinnaṃ hi svajanena tvāṃ prasahiṣyanti śatravaḥ ||
yā hi śakyā mahārāja sāmnā dānena vā punaḥ ||
nistartum āpadaḥ sveṣu daṇḍaṃ kas tatra pātayet ||
'"You indeed, Dhritarashtra, are greatly blameworthy here, loving your son as you do: knowing his wickedness, you follow his judgment. He, deceived by desire and anger, has fallen into delusion; today, O king, you are no longer able to turn him back by force. Dhritarashtra reaps the fruit of granting the kingdom to a foolish, childish, wicked-souled man with wicked helpers and greedy. How could a truly wise man look with indifference upon division among his own kin? For once you are divided from your own people, your enemies will overpower you. What calamity among one's own kin can be overcome by gentle words or gifts — who then would inflict punishment there?"'
981f1d7767f4 · published Jul 17, 2026, 5:51:08 AM UTC
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Gandhari speaks as a mother and as the bearer of sober dharma: a kingdom cannot be held by will alone if a man has not conquered his own senses. The essence of her speech is not an emotional plea but a political-ethical diagnosis: desire, anger, and greed strip Duryodhana of his helpers, destroy the family, and make war inevitable.