Shloka 3

Devanagari script

॥! _ 8 ५) 0 ५. 735 १ 0 5 २५ [७-7 865 न सन्तीमे धार्तराष्ट्रा येषां त्वमनुशासिता । भविष्यमर्थमाख्यासि सर्वदा कृत्यमात्मन:,आप जिनके शासक हैं, वे धार्तराष्ट्र नहींके बराबर हैं (क्योंकि आप उन्हें स्वेच्छासे उन्नतिके पथपर बढ़ने नहीं देते)) आप सदा अपने वर्तमान कर्तव्यको भविष्यपर ही टालते रहते हैं

Transliteration

na santīme dhārtarāṣṭrā yeṣāṃ tvam anuśāsitā | bhaviṣyam artham ākhyāsi sarvadā kṛtyam ātmanaḥ ||

Translation

Duryodhana sagte: „Diejenigen, die unter deiner Herrschaft stehen, sind kaum noch ‘Söhne Dhṛtarāṣṭras’ zu nennen—so sehr werden sie durch deine Kontrolle in Schranken gehalten. Und du schiebst stets auf, was jetzt getan werden müsste, indem du deine eigene Pflicht immerzu in eine zukünftige Zeit verlegst.“

Word by Word

nanot

santiare / exist

imethese

dhartarashtrathe sons/party of Dhṛtarāṣṭra

yeshamof whom / whose

tvamyou

anushasitainstructed/ruled (as one who has instructed/controlled)

bhavishyamthe future

arthampurpose/matter

akhyasiyou tell / you declare

sarvadaalways

krityamwhat ought to be done / duty

atmanahof yourself

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duryodhana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied via dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse critiques evasion of responsibility: a leader (or adviser) who continually defers present duty by appealing to the future undermines agency and weakens those he governs. Ethical governance requires timely action aligned with duty (kṛtya), not perpetual postponement.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana speaks in frustration, accusing the addressee (a controlling authority/elder-counsel figure) of so tightly directing the Kaurava side that they scarcely act as independent ‘Dhṛtarāṣṭras,’ and of repeatedly delaying necessary action by invoking future considerations.