अश्वत्थामा यथा मह्यं तथा श्वेतहयो मम ॥
बहुना किं प्रलापेन यतो धर्मस् ततो जयः ॥
एवम् उक्ते महाराज द्रोणेनामिततेजसा ॥
व्याजहार ततो वाक्यं विदुरः सत्यसंगरः ॥
पितुर् वदनम् अन्वीक्ष्य परिवृत्य च धर्मवित् ॥
देवव्रत निबोधेदं वचनं मम भाषतः ॥
प्रनष्टः कौरवो वंशस् त्वयायं पुनर् उद्धृतः ॥
तन् मे विलपमानस्य वचनं समुपेक्षसे ॥
को ऽयं दुर्योधनो नाम कुले ऽस्मिन् कुलपांसनः ॥
यस्य लोभाभिभूतस्य मतिं समनुवर्तसे ॥
अनार्यस्याकृतज्ञस्य लोभोपहतचेतसः ॥
अतिक्रामति यः शास्त्रं पितुर् धर्मार्थदर्शिनः ॥
aśvatthāmā yathā mahyaṃ tathā śvetahayo mama ||
bahunā kiṃ pralāpena yato dharmas tato jayaḥ ||
evam ukte mahārāja droṇenāmitatejasā ||
vyājahāra tato vākyaṃ viduraḥ satyasaṃgaraḥ ||
pitur vadanam anvīkṣya parivṛtya ca dharmavit ||
devavrata nibodhedaṃ vacanaṃ mama bhāṣataḥ ||
pranaṣṭaḥ kauravo vaṃśas tvayāyaṃ punar uddhṛtaḥ ||
tan me vilapamānasya vacanaṃ samupekṣase ||
ko 'yaṃ duryodhano nāma kule 'smin kulapāṃsanaḥ ||
yasya lobhābhibhūtasya matiṃ samanuvartase ||
anāryasyākṛtajñasya lobhopahatacetasaḥ ||
atikrāmati yaḥ śāstraṃ pitur dharmārthadarśinaḥ ||
'As Ashvatthama is dear to me, so too is he dear to me whose horses are white. What use is there in lengthy speech? Where dharma is, there is victory.' When mighty Drona had spoken thus, O great king, Vidura, true to his word and versed in dharma, looked upon his father's face, turned, and spoke these words: 'O Devavrata, hear my speech. This Kuru line had perished, but was raised up again by you. Yet you disregard the words of me, who grieve. Who is this Duryodhana, the disgrace of the lineage, born into this house? You follow the counsel of one conquered by greed, who is ignoble, ungrateful, whose mind is stricken with avarice, and who transgresses the instruction of a father who sees dharma and true benefit.'
ae78eeafd038 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:17:17 AM UTC
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In this chapter Drona, Vidura, and Gandhari, one after another, bring Duryodhana back to one and the same ground: the authority of the Kurus rests not on personal whim but on the dharma of the family, on lawful succession, and on faithfulness to one's elders. Their words show that denying the Pandavas their rightful share destroys not only the political order but the very fabric of the family.