Shloka 3
Hiḍimbā’s Account and the Bhīma–Hiḍimba Engagement (आदि पर्व, अध्याय १४२)
दुःशासनचतुर्थास्ति मन्त्रयामासुरेकत: । ततो दुर्योधनो राजा धृतराष्ट्रमभाषत,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्! अपने पुत्रकी यह बात सुनकर तथा कणिकके उन वचानोंका स्मरण करके प्रज्ञाचक्षु महाराज धृतराष्ट्रका चित्त सब प्रकारसे दुविधामें पड़ गया। वे शोकसे आतुर हो गये। दुर्योधन, कर्ण, सुबलपुत्र शकुनि तथा चौथे दुःशासन इन सबने एक जगह बैठकर सलाह की; फिर राजा दुर्योधनने धृतराष्ट्रसे कहा--
duḥśāsana-caturthāsti mantrayāmāsur ekataḥ | tato duryodhano rājā dhṛtarāṣṭram abhāṣata |
Vaiśampāyana said: Duryodhana, together with Karṇa, Śakuni the son of Subala, and Duḥśāsana as the fourth, sat in one place and held counsel. After their private deliberation, King Duryodhana approached Dhṛtarāṣṭra and addressed him—signaling the Kauravas’ turn from anxious reflection to calculated planning, where ambition and partiality begin to press against the demands of dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Private counsel among the powerful can become a tool for adharma when driven by ambition and factional loyalty; the verse foreshadows how strategic planning, if detached from righteousness, leads to moral and political collapse.
Duryodhana, along with Karṇa, Śakuni, and Duḥśāsana, meets in secret consultation; after deciding their course, Duryodhana goes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra to present their plan or persuasion.