Shloka 15
याज्ञसेनी-प्रश्नः
Draupadī’s Question in the Assembly
मोहात्मा तप्स्यसे पश्चात् पत्रिहा पुरुषो यथा । (एतेन तव नाश: स्याद् बडिशाच्छफरो यथा ।) जातं॑ जात॑ पाण्डवेभ्य: पुष्पमादत्स्व भारत
mohātmā tapsyase paścāt pattrihā puruṣo yathā | (etena tava nāśaḥ syād baḍiśāc chapharo yathā |) jātaṃ jāta pāṇḍavebhyaḥ puṣpam ādatsva bhārata
حذّر فيدورا قائلاً: «إذ يعميك الوهم ستذوق الندم لاحقًا—كرجلٍ يقتل الطير ثم يأسى. وبهذا المسلك نفسه تلقى الهلاك، كسمكةٍ علِقت بالسنّارة. فخذ إذن، يا بهاراتا، “الزهرة” التي تتفتح مرة بعد مرة من آل باندافا—أي خير ما يجيء منهم: مودّتهم، وحلفهم، ونصيبهم الحق—ولا تختر طريقًا ينتهي إلى الخراب.»
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches that decisions made under delusion and greed lead to inevitable ruin and later remorse. Wise kingship means accepting a just, auspicious course—here, making peace and granting the Pāṇḍavas their due—rather than pursuing harmful schemes that ‘hook’ one into destruction.
In the Sabha Parva, Vidura admonishes the Kuru ruler (addressed as ‘Bharata’) during the escalating conflict around the Pāṇḍavas’ treatment. He uses vivid similes—a repentant bird-killer and a fish caught by a hook—to warn that hostile actions against the Pāṇḍavas will rebound disastrously, urging acceptance of the best and rightful settlement connected with them.