Shloka 7
याज्ञसेनी-प्रश्नः
Draupadī’s Question in the Assembly
विदितं मे महाप्राज्ञ भोजेष्वेवासमठ्जसम् । पुत्रं संत्यक्तवान् पूर्व पौराणां हितकाम्यया
viditaṁ me mahāprājña bhojeṣv evāsam aṭjasam | putraṁ saṁtyaktavān pūrvaṁ paurāṇāṁ hitakāmyayā ||
Vidura said: “O greatly wise one, it is known to me that among the Bhojas there once was a king who, desiring the welfare of the townspeople, formerly renounced his own son who had taken to an unrighteous path. The good of the community was placed above private attachment.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must prioritize dharma and the welfare of the people over personal attachment; even one’s own child may be set aside if he endangers public good and moral order.
Vidura cites an earlier example from the Bhojas: a king, seeking the citizens’ welfare, abandoned his wayward son. The example functions as moral counsel about impartial governance and difficult ethical choices.