Shloka 86
Rajo-dhūli-saṃmūḍha-saṅgrāmaḥ
The Dust-Obscured Battle and Mutual Charges
न कृपो न च गान्धारी नाहं संजय रोचये । मेरा पुत्र दुर्योधन क्षुद्र स्वभावका है। वह कर्ण आदिका प्रिय तथा चंचल बुद्धिवाला है। मेरी दृष्टिमें वह समस्त पुरुषोंमें अधम है (इसीलिये उसके मनमें युद्धके लिये आग्रह है)। संजय! मैं, भीष्म, द्रोणाचार्य, कृपाचार्य तथा गान्धारी--इनमेंसे कोई भी युद्ध नहीं चाहता था
na kṛpo na ca gāndhārī nāhaṃ sañjaya rocaye | me putro duryodhanaḥ kṣudra-svabhāvakaḥ sa karṇādikapriyaś cañcala-buddhimān | mama dṛṣṭau sa samasta-puruṣeṣv adhamaḥ (tasmād asya manasi yuddhāya āgrahaḥ) | sañjaya! ahaṃ bhīṣmo droṇācāryaḥ kṛpācāryaś ca gāndhārī—eteṣāṃ madhye kaścid api yuddhaṃ na icchati sma |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Neither Kṛpa nor Gāndhārī—nor I, Sañjaya—approve of this. My son Duryodhana is petty by nature: he is devoted to Karṇa and the like, and his mind is fickle. In my judgment he is the lowest among men; therefore his heart is set on war. Sañjaya, among us—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, and Gāndhārī—not one truly wished for this war.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights moral accountability in leadership: recognizing adharma (petty, impulsive motives and harmful attachments) yet failing to restrain it leads to collective catastrophe. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s judgment of Duryodhana underscores that inner character and counsel—not mere power—determine righteous action.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks to Sañjaya, distancing himself and senior elders (Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, and Gāndhārī) from the desire for war. He attributes the push toward battle chiefly to Duryodhana’s ignoble temperament, his attachment to Karṇa and his faction, and his unstable, obstinate resolve.