Shloka 17
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
धृतराष्ट्र रवाच ज्येष्ठां स्वसारं पितरं मातरं च यथा शत्रु मदमत्ताश्नरन्ति । तथाविधानामेष लोको महर्षे परं गन्ता धृतराष्ट्रो न तत्र
gautama uvāca | dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca—jyeṣṭhāṃ svasāraṃ pitaraṃ mātaraṃ ca yathā śatruṃ madamattāś caranti | tathāvidhānām eṣa loko maharṣe paraṃ gantā dhṛtarāṣṭro na tatra ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O great sage, those intoxicated with pride who treat their elder sister, their mother, and their father as though they were enemies—this realm of Yama is meant for such people. But Dhṛtarāṣṭra will not go there.”
गौतम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns pride-driven conduct that turns one against one’s closest elders—especially parents and elder siblings—and frames such behavior as a grave adharma leading to punitive consequences in Yama’s realm.
In conversation with the sage Gautama, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks about the fate of those who behave like enemies toward their own family elders, asserting that such a fate belongs to them—while claiming that he himself will not go to that realm.