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Shloka 19

Saṃjaya’s Warning to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: Accountability, Alliance-Shift, and the Pāṇḍava Strategic Edge

भक्‍्त्या हास्य विरुध्यन्ते तव पुत्र: सदैव ते । अनहनिव तु वधे धर्मयुक्तान्‌ विकर्मणा

bhaktyā hāsya virudhyante tava putrāḥ sadaiva te | anahaniva tu vadhe dharmayuktān vikarmaṇā |

Sañjaya sprach: „Aus Hingabe an Dharma und an Yudhiṣṭhira stehen sie stets im Widerstreit zu deinen Söhnen. Doch jene Männer, fest im Dharma und niemals des Todes würdig, sind durch unrechtes Tun gequält worden. Darum muss dein sündiger Sohn Duryodhana—der sie fortwährend durch verkehrtes, feindseliges Verhalten verletzt hat und sie auch jetzt noch hasst—mit allen Mitteln gezügelt werden, samt seinen Gefährten. Versinke nicht immer wieder in solcher Klage. Zur Zeit des Würfelspiels haben sowohl ich als auch der höchst weise Vidura dir eben diesen Rat gegeben, doch du hast nicht darauf gehört.“

भक्त्याby devotion/loyalty
भक्त्या:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootभक्ति
FormFeminine, Instrumental, Singular
हास्यlaughter; ridicule
हास्य:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootहास्य
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
विरुध्यन्तेthey oppose; they are at variance
विरुध्यन्ते:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootविरुध्
FormPresent, Third, Plural, Atmanepada
तवof you; your
तव:
TypePronoun
Rootयुष्मद्
FormGenitive, Singular
पुत्राःsons
पुत्राः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootपुत्र
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
सदैवalways
सदैव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootसदैव
तेto you; for you
ते:
Sampradana
TypePronoun
Rootयुष्मद्
FormDative, Singular

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
D
Dhṛtarāṣṭra
K
Kauravas (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons)
P
Pāṇḍavas
Y
Yudhiṣṭhira
D
Duryodhana
V
Vidura
D
Dyūta (dice-game)

Educational Q&A

A ruler must restrain a wayward, hateful heir even if he is one’s own son; devotion to dharma naturally creates opposition to adharma, and ignoring wise counsel (especially after the dice-game) leads to escalating harm and inevitable conflict.

Sañjaya addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra, explaining that the Pāṇḍavas oppose the Kauravas out of devotion to dharma and loyalty to Yudhiṣṭhira. He urges Dhṛtarāṣṭra to control Duryodhana and his faction, reminding him that the same warning was given earlier by Sañjaya and Vidura during the dice-game episode.