Shloka 3
याज्ञसेनी-प्रश्नः
Draupadī’s Question in the Assembly
यद् वै पुरा जातमात्रो रुराव गोमायुवद् विस्वरं पापचेता: । दुर्योधनो भरतानां कुलघ्न: सो<यं युक्तो भवतां कालहेतु:
yad vai purā jātamātro rurāva gomāyuvad visvaraṁ pāpacetāḥ | duryodhano bharatānāṁ kulaghnaḥ so 'yaṁ yukto bhavatāṁ kālahetuḥ ||
Indeed, long ago, the moment he was born, that evil-minded one cried out in a harsh, discordant voice like a jackal. That Duryodhana—destroyer of the Bharata line—this very man is rightly to be regarded as the cause and instrument of your ruin.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura frames moral and political discernment through the language of omens: a ruler driven by pāpa-cetā (evil intent) becomes a kālahetu—an agent of collective ruin. The ethical warning is to recognize adharma early and restrain or remove its source for the protection of the kula and kingdom.
In the Sabha Parva context, Vidura admonishes the Kuru elders about Duryodhana’s destructive nature. He cites an inauspicious sign from Duryodhana’s birth—crying like a jackal—as evidence that Duryodhana is destined to bring calamity upon the Bharata line unless checked.