Shloka 31
अध्याय ३९: विदुरेण धृतराष्ट्राय नीत्युपदेशः
Timely Counsel, Association, and Kin-Duty
धृतराष्ट्रने कहा--विदुर! तुम प्रतिदिन मुझे जिस प्रकार उपदेश दिया करते हो, वह बहुत ठीक है। सौम्य! तुम मुझसे जो कुछ भी कहते हो, ऐसा ही मेरा भी विचार है ।। सातु बुद्धि: कृताप्येवं पाण्डवान् प्रति मे सदा । दुर्योधनं समासाद्य पुनर्विपरिवर्तते,यद्यपि मैं पाण्डवोंके प्रति सदा ऐसी ही बुद्धि रखता हूँ, तथापि दुर्योधनसे मिलनेपर फिर बुद्धि पलट जाती है
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca—vidura! tvaṃ me pratidinaṃ yathā upadeśaṃ dadāsi, tat sarvam eva samyak. saumya! tvaṃ mayi yat kiṃcid vadasi, tathāiva mama api matam. sā tu buddhiḥ kṛtā apy evaṃ pāṇḍavān prati me sadā, duryodhanaṃ samāsādya punaḥ viparivartate.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „Vidura, der Rat, den du mir Tag für Tag gibst, ist wahrlich treffend. Du Sanftmütiger, was immer du zu mir sagst, stimmt mit meinem eigenen Urteil überein. Und doch: So sehr ich auch stets einen solchen Entschluss zugunsten der Pāṇḍavas fasse—sobald ich Duryodhana begegne, wendet sich mein Sinn erneut.“
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Right counsel and clear moral understanding are insufficient if one repeatedly yields to attachment and proximity to a powerful influence. Dhṛtarāṣṭra admits that he knows what is just toward the Pāṇḍavas, yet his resolve collapses when he faces Duryodhana—highlighting the ethical danger of partiality and weak self-governance in a ruler.
In Udyoga Parva, as war negotiations and court deliberations intensify, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks to Vidura, acknowledging Vidura’s daily advice and agreeing with it in principle. However, he confesses that his stance shifts whenever he meets his son Duryodhana, revealing the court’s paralysis and the king’s inability to act decisively for dharma.