Shloka 16
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Saṃvāda on Restraint and Rājānīti
Chapter 50
नित्यमाज्ञापयन् भासि दिवि देवेश्वरो यथा । तस्य ते विदितप्रज्ञ शोकमूलमिदं कथम् | समुत्थितं दुःखकरं यन्मे शंसितुमरहसि,'स्वर्गमें देवराज इन्द्रकी भाँति तुम इस लोकमें सदा सबपर शासन करते हुए शोभा पाते हो। तुम्हारी उत्तम बुद्धि प्रसिद्ध है। फिर तुम्हें शोककी कारणभूत यह दुःखदायिनी चिन्ता कैसे प्राप्त हुई है? यह मुझसे बताओ”
nityam ājñāpayann bhāsi divi deveśvaro yathā | tasya te viditaprajña śokamūlam idaṃ katham | samutthitaṃ duḥkhakaraṃ yan me śaṃsitum arhasi ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “You shine here, ever issuing commands, like the lord of the gods in heaven. Your discernment is well known. How, then, has this sorrow-rooted, pain-bringing anxiety arisen in you? Tell me of it, for you ought to explain it to me.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even those who appear powerful and authoritative may be inwardly troubled; the verse frames ethical inquiry as the proper response—asking for the root-cause of sorrow rather than judging appearances.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a ruler-like figure who shines while commanding others, likened to Indra, and then asks how such a renowned wise person has come to be afflicted by a grief-born, distressing anxiety, requesting an explanation.