आकर्षस् ते ऽवाक्फलः कुप्रणीतो; हृदि प्रौढो मन्त्रपदः समाधिः ॥
युधिष्ठिरेण सफलः संस्तवो ऽस्तु; साम्नः सुरिक्तो ऽरिमतेः सुधन्वा ॥
प्रातिपीयाः शांतनवाश् च राजन्; काव्यां वाचं शृणुत मात्यगाद् वः ॥
वैश्वानरं प्रज्वलितं सुघोरम्; अयुद्धेन प्रशमयतोत्पतन्तम् ॥
ākarṣas te 'vākphalaḥ kupraṇīto; hṛdi prauḍho mantrapadaḥ samādhiḥ ||
yudhiṣṭhireṇa saphalaḥ saṃstavo 'stu; sāmnaḥ surikto 'rimateḥ sudhanvā ||
prātipīyāḥ śāṃtanavāś ca rājan; kāvyāṃ vācaṃ śṛṇuta mātyagād vaḥ ||
vaiśvānaraṃ prajvalitaṃ sughoram; ayuddhena praśamayatotpatantam ||
«This move of yours, ill-conceived, [bears] a ruinous fruit, [as does] the scheme matured in the heart with [Shakuni's] counsels; let another thing bear fruit instead — concord with Yudhishthira; while Shakuni, empty of [any wish for] peace, hostile in mind, is [only] a ‘skilled archer’ [at dice]. O Pratipyas and descendants of Shantanu, O king, hear this wise speech — let it not pass you by: the blazing, most terrible, rising fire of Vaishvanara — quench it without battle.»
b9bc87181802 · publicado 16 jul 2026, 16:03:36 UTC
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Vidura points to the truly fruitful path: not gambling, but ‘concord with Yudhishthira.’ The contrast is telling — discord is barren and ruinous, while peace bears fruit. The verse teaches that the greatest statecraft is pacification, not incitement: ‘quench the fire without battle.’ And the image of Vaishvanara — a blaze better doused while small — is an enduring precept of peacemaking: strife is fought before it flares up. Yet Dhritarashtra will choose to fan it. Truly, there is an hour when the fire can still be put out by a word; whoever lets that hour pass will have to put it out with blood. Whoever could have made peace and did not will answer for everything the fire consumes that he could have quenched.