Shloka 25
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 141: Bhīma–Hiḍimba Confrontation and Protective Discourse
प्रज्ञाचक्षुरचक्षुष्टवाद् धृतराष्ट्रो जनेश्वर: । राज्यं न प्राप्तवान् पूर्व स कथं नृपतिर्भवेत्,वे कहते, 'प्रज्ञाचक्षु महाराज धृतराष्ट्र नेत्रहीन होनेके कारण जब पहले ही राज्य न पा सके, तब (अब) वे कैसे राजा हो सकते हैं
prajñācakṣur acakṣuṣṭvād dhṛtarāṣṭro janeśvaraḥ | rājyaṃ na prāptavān pūrva sa kathaṃ nṛpatir bhavet |
وقالوا: «إن دِهْرِتَراشْتْرا، وإن كان سيدًا بين الناس، يُقال عنه: “بصرُه الحكمة” لأنه أعمى الجسد. فإذا كان من قبل لم ينل المملكة بسبب تلك العمى، فكيف يكون الآن ملكًا؟»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames kingship as a matter of established eligibility and prior decision: if Dhṛtarāṣṭra was earlier denied sovereignty due to blindness, it is ethically and procedurally inconsistent to install him later. It highlights the tension between personal worth (being a ‘lord among men’) and institutional criteria for rule.
Vaiśampāyana reports an argument about succession in the Kuru line: Dhṛtarāṣṭra, being blind, had not previously received the kingdom; therefore the speaker questions how he could now be made king. The line reflects the political reasoning used in the succession deliberations.