Shloka 4
Saṃjaya’s Warning to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: Accountability, Alliance-Shift, and the Pāṇḍava Strategic Edge
पिता श्रेष्ठ: सुहृद् यश्च सम्यक् प्रणिहितात्मवान् | आस्थेयं हि हितं तेन न द्रोग्धा गुरुरुच्यते
sañjaya uvāca | pitā śreṣṭhaḥ suhṛd yaś ca samyak praṇihitātmavān | āstheyaṃ hi hitaṃ tena na drogdhā gurur ucyate ||
সঞ্জয় বললেন—যে পিতা সত্যিই শ্রেষ্ঠ, প্রকৃত হিতৈষী এবং সংযতচিত্ত, তার উচিত আশ্রিতদের মঙ্গলই সাধন করা। যে অন্তরে বিশ্বাসঘাতকতা পোষে, সে পিতা বা গুরু নামে অভিহিত হতে পারে না।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
True fatherhood and true spiritual/ethical authority are defined by disciplined intention and active concern for others’ welfare; betrayal (droha) disqualifies a person from being regarded as a father or guru in the moral sense.
In Sañjaya’s report during the tense pre-war negotiations of the Udyoga Parva, a moral criterion is stated: elders and guides must act as well-wishers and protectors; one who plots harm cannot claim the revered status of father or teacher.