Shloka 21
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय ८७: सात्यकेरनुयात्रा
Sātyaki’s resolve and departure to reach Arjuna
यदा प्रभृत्युपप्लव्याच्छान्तिमिच्छठ्जनार्दन:,संजय! जब अपनी महिमासे कभी च्युत न होनेवाले भगवान् जनार्दन समस्त प्राणियोंपर कृपा करनेके लिये शान्ति स्थापित करनेकी इच्छा लेकर उपप्लव्यसे हस्तिनापुरमें पधारे थे, उस समय मैंने अपने मूर्ख पुत्र दुर्योधनसे इस प्रकार कहा था --
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yadā prabhṛty upaplavyāc chāntim icchan janārdanaḥ, sañjaya, svamahimnā kadācid api acyutaḥ bhagavān janārdanaḥ sarva-prāṇiṣu kṛpāṃ kartum śāntiṃ sthāpayituṃ icchayā upaplavyāt hastināpuraṃ prāptaḥ, tadāhaṃ mama mūḍha-putraṃ duryodhanaṃ prati evam avadam |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, when the Blessed Lord Janārdana—never falling away from His own divine majesty—set out from Upaplavya and came to Hastināpura, desiring to establish peace out of compassion for all living beings, I then spoke to my foolish son Duryodhana in this manner.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when a divine, compassionate peacemaker seeks reconciliation for the good of all beings, a ruler’s moral clarity and willingness to heed counsel determine whether peace can be established; obstinacy and delusion in leadership become causes of collective ruin.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra recalls to Sañjaya the earlier moment when Kṛṣṇa (Janārdana), coming from Upaplavya to Hastināpura to negotiate peace, arrived with the intention of preventing war; Dhṛtarāṣṭra then addressed his son Duryodhana, setting up the counsel he had given.