वैशंपायन उवाच
धृतराष्ट्रस् तु पुत्रस्य श्रुत्वा वचनम् ईदृशम् ॥
मुहूर्तम् इव संचिन्त्य दुर्योधनम् अथाब्रवीत् ॥
धर्मनित्यः सदा पाण्डुर् ममासीत् प्रियकृद् धितः ॥
सर्वेषु ज्ञातिषु तथा मयि त्व् आसीद् विशेषतः ॥
नास्य किं चिन् न जानामि भोजनादि चिकीर्षितम् ॥
निवेदयति नित्यं हि मम राज्यं धृतव्रतः ॥
तस्य पुत्रो यथा पाण्डुस् तथा धर्मपरायणः ॥
गुणवांल् लोकविख्यातः पौराणां च सुसंमतः ॥
स कथं शक्यम् अस्माभिर् अपक्रष्टुं बलाद् इतः ॥
पितृपैतामहाद् राज्यात् ससहायो विशेषतः ॥
भृता हि पाण्डुनामात्या बलं च सततं भृतम् ॥
भृताः पुत्राश् च पौत्राश् च तेषाम् अपि विशेषतः ॥
ते पुरा सत्कृतास् तात पाण्डुना पौरवा जनाः ॥
कथं युधिष्ठिरस्यार्थे न नो हन्युः सबान्धवान् ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
dhṛtarāṣṭras tu putrasya śrutvā vacanam īdṛśam ||
muhūrtam iva saṃcintya duryodhanam athābravīt ||
dharmanityaḥ sadā pāṇḍur mamāsīt priyakṛd dhitaḥ ||
sarveṣu jñātiṣu tathā mayi tv āsīd viśeṣataḥ ||
nāsya kiṃ cin na jānāmi bhojanādi cikīrṣitam ||
nivedayati nityaṃ hi mama rājyaṃ dhṛtavrataḥ ||
tasya putro yathā pāṇḍus tathā dharmaparāyaṇaḥ ||
guṇavāṃl lokavikhyātaḥ paurāṇāṃ ca susaṃmataḥ ||
sa kathaṃ śakyam asmābhir apakraṣṭuṃ balād itaḥ ||
pitṛpaitāmahād rājyāt sasahāyo viśeṣataḥ ||
bhṛtā hi pāṇḍunāmātyā balaṃ ca satataṃ bhṛtam ||
bhṛtāḥ putrāś ca pautrāś ca teṣām api viśeṣataḥ ||
te purā satkṛtās tāta pāṇḍunā pauravā janāḥ ||
kathaṃ yudhiṣṭhirasyārthe na no hanyuḥ sabāndhavān ||
Dhritarashtra, hearing such words from his son, reflected for a moment and said to Duryodhana: 'Pandu, ever devoted to dharma, was dear and kind to me -- to all our kinsmen, and to me especially; I know of nothing he desired that he did not share with me, for he, true to his vow, always entrusted the kingdom to me. His son, like Pandu himself, is equally devoted to dharma, virtuous, renowned in the world, and beloved by the citizens. How then can we forcibly wrest from him the kingdom of his father and grandfather, especially when he has allies? For Pandu maintained the counselors, and always maintained the army; he maintained the sons and grandsons of these as well. Those Paurava people, once favored by Pandu -- how, for Yudhishthira's sake, would they not slay us along with our kinsmen?'
1fb96d7a4247 · publicado 12 jul 2026, 16:53:33 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Here Dhritarashtra reveals that he knows the truth -- and in this lies his condemnation. It is significant that he himself acknowledges both Pandu's goodness and Yudhishthira's righteousness and the people's love for him: his conscience clearly sees that the scheme against the Pandavas is unjust. Here is the tragedy of one who knows the good and does not do it: Dhritarashtra is not ignorant like Duryodhana, but a conscious accomplice of evil, and his guilt is therefore heavier. It is significant that his objections concern not the wrongness of the scheme but its danger ('lest we be killed'): he is concerned not with dharma but with consequences; fear, not conscience, moves him. Thus the scripture reveals the worst kind of weakness: knowing what is righteous, fearing what is unrighteous -- and still inclining toward evil out of faintheartedness and love for his son.