Shloka 43

Rājasūyābhiṣeka-darśana: Duryodhana’s Observation of the Consecration

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट उवाच क्षत्ता मन्त्री महाप्राज्ञ: स्थितो यस्यास्मि शासने । तेन संगम्य वेत्स्यामि कार्यस्यास्य विनिश्चयम्‌

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | kṣattā mantrī mahāprājñaḥ sthito yasyāsmi śāsane | tena saṅgamya vetsyāmi kāryasyāsya viniścayam |

Translation

ধৃতরাষ্ট্র বললেন—‘মহাপ্রাজ্ঞ ক্ষত্তা বিদুর আমার মন্ত্রী; আমি তাঁর উপদেশেই চলি। তাঁর সঙ্গে মিলিত হয়ে পরামর্শ করলে তবেই এ কাজের বিষয়ে সিদ্ধান্ত জানতে পারব।’

Word by Word

• {'dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra said', 'kṣattā': 'chamberlain

• royal attendant (epithet of Vidura)', 'mantrī': 'minister

• counsellor', 'mahāprājñaḥ': 'of great wisdom

• highly discerning', 'sthitaḥ': 'standing

• remaining', 'yasya': 'whose', 'asmi': 'I am', 'śāsane': 'in the command

• under the governance/instruction', 'tena': 'with him

• by him', 'saṅgamya': 'having met

• after meeting', 'vetsyāmi': 'I shall know

• I shall ascertain', 'kāryasya': 'of the affair

• of the task/matter', 'asya': 'of this', 'viniścayam': 'decision

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Vidura (Kṣattā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler should not decide impulsively; ethical governance requires seeking wise counsel (here, Vidura) and arriving at a firm, reasoned determination (viniścaya) about the matter at hand.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra states that Vidura is his trusted minister and that he follows Vidura’s guidance; he intends to meet Vidura and, after consultation, decide what should be done regarding the current issue.