Mahabharata 1.143.2 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 143, Shloka 2
Hiḍimbā’s Petition, Conditional Union with Bhīma, and the Birth-Naming of Ghaṭotkaca (आदि पर्व, अध्याय १४३)
धृतराष्ट्रप्रयुक्तास्ते केचित् कुशलमन्त्रिण: । कथयांचक्रिरे रम्यं नगरं वारणावतम्
dhṛtarāṣṭraprayuktās te kecit kuśala-mantriṇaḥ | kathayāṃ cakrire ramyaṃ nagaraṃ vāraṇāvatam ||
قال فايشَمبايانا: بأمر دْهريتاراشترا أخذ بعضُ الوزراء المهرة يشيعون في الآفاق حديثًا يمدحون فيه مدينة فاراناڤاتا، ويصفونها بأنها مدينة بهيجة فاتنة. وفي سياق الحكاية، يغدو هذا الثناء العلني ذريعةً محسوبة—استعمالًا مريبًا للمشورة والدعاية، متسترًا بلباس التقوى والإعجاب بالمدينة.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how power can manipulate public opinion through seemingly harmless praise. Ethically, it warns that counsel (mantra) divorced from dharma becomes an instrument of deception—especially when authority uses ministers to manufacture consent for hidden aims.
Under Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s prompting, some capable ministers begin circulating favorable talk about the city of Vāraṇāvata. This sets the stage for directing others toward that place under an attractive public narrative.
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