Shloka 13
विदुरस्य कृष्णं प्रति शमोपदेशः
Vidura’s Counsel to Krishna on the Limits of Peace
मृदुपूर्व शठोदर्क कर्णमाभाष्य कौरव: । तब कुरुराज दुर्योधनने कर्णसे सलाह लेकर कौरवसभामें श्रीकृष्णसे पूछा। पूछते समय उसकी वाणीमें पहले तो मृदुता थी, परंतु अन्तमें शठता प्रकट होने लगी थी ।।
mṛdu-pūrva-śaṭhodarkaṃ karṇam ābhāṣya kauravaḥ | tataḥ kuru-rājo duryodhanena karṇa-sahāyaṃ kṛtvā kaurava-sabhāyāṃ śrī-kṛṣṇaṃ papraccha | pṛcchataḥ samaye tasya vāṇyāṃ pūrvaṃ mṛdutā āsīt, ante tu śaṭhatā prakaṭībhavatīti || kasmād annāni pānāni vāsāṃsi śayanāni ca
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Der Kaurava (Duryodhana) redete zunächst Karṇa mit sanften Worten an, die nach und nach eine listige Absicht erkennen ließen; dann, gestützt auf Karṇas Rat und Rückhalt, befragte er Śrī Kṛṣṇa in der Versammlung der Kauravas. Seine Rede begann mild, doch als er seinen Punkt zuspitzte, trat die Arglist hervor. Er fragte: „Aus welchem Grund werden Speise und Trank, Gewänder und Lager bereitet?“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical warning about speech and intention: outward gentleness can mask inner duplicity. In dharma-discourse, the moral quality of a question depends not only on its words but on the motive behind it—here, Duryodhana’s tone shifts from polite to deceitful, signaling adharma in diplomacy.
In the Kaurava court during the pre-war negotiations, Duryodhana first consults/addresses Karṇa and then questions Kṛṣṇa before the assembly. He asks why provisions—food, drink, clothing, and beds—are being arranged, implying suspicion and political maneuvering around Kṛṣṇa’s presence and the unfolding embassy.