Shloka 15
उवाच मतिमान् राजा धृतराष्ट्रोडम्बिकासुत: । भूपाल जनमेजय! राजाने देखा कि समस्त पुरवासी और जनपदके लोग वहाँ आ गये हैं। सम्पूर्ण सुहृद-वर्गके लोग भी उपस्थित हैं और नाना देशोंके ब्राह्मण भी पधारे हैं। तब बुद्धिमान् अम्बिकानन्दन राजा धृतराष्ट्रने उन सबको लक्ष्य करके कहा-- || १३-१४ $ || भवन्त: कुरवश्चैव चिरकालं सहोषिता:,यदेव तै: कृतं किंचिद् व्यलीकं व: सुतैर्मम
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
uvāca matimān rājā dhṛtarāṣṭro ’mbikāsutaḥ |
bhavantaḥ kuravaś caiva cirakālaṃ sahoṣitāḥ |
yad eva taiḥ kṛtaṃ kiñcid vyalīkaṃ vaḥ sutair mama ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then the wise king Dhṛtarāṣṭra, son of Ambikā, addressed those assembled: “O Kurus, you have long dwelt together. If, through my sons, anything at all has been done to you that was crooked, false, or hurtful…” (He thus begins a public acknowledgement, preparing the ground for reconciliation and moral reckoning after the devastation of the Kuru conflict.)
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must acknowledge wrongdoing done under his house and seek reconciliation; ethical repair begins with honest admission of harm (vyalīka) and respect toward those who suffered.
In the Āśramavāsika context, Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses the assembled Kurus and others, opening a speech that recognizes the long shared life of the community and admits the possibility of wrongs committed by his sons against them.