Shloka 11

अध्याय ६ — युधिष्ठिरस्य वैराग्य-वाक्यं धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनगमनाभिलाषश्च

Chapter 6: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Renunciatory Appeal and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Resolve for the Forest

Devanagari script

विपरीतान्निगृह्नीयात्‌ स्वं हि संधिविशारद:

Transliteration

viparītān nigṛhṇīyāt svaṃ hi saṃdhiviśāradaḥ

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “A man skilled in making peace and alliances should restrain his own impulses when they run contrary (to what is right and prudent).”

Word by Word

• विपरीतान्: the adverse/opponents
• विपरीतान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपरीत
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• निगृह्नीयात्: should restrain/subdue
• निगृह्नीयात्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-ग्रह्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• स्वम्: one's own (side/people)
• स्वम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun/Adjective
• Root: स्व
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• संधिविशारदः: one skilled in making alliances/treaties
• संधिविशारदः: Karta
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: संधिविशारद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

धघतयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that genuine diplomatic wisdom (saṃdhi-viśāradatā) requires mastery over oneself: when one’s own tendencies become ‘viparīta’—contrary to dharma or sound judgment—one should restrain them rather than act on them.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Ashramavāsika context, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks reflectively, emphasizing restraint and the discipline needed for peace-making—an ethical counterpoint to the destructive consequences of unrestrained impulses that have already unfolded in the epic.