Shloka 8
Sabhā-parva Adhyāya 63 — Draupadī’s Contested Status, Vidura’s Warning, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Boons
यदा मन्युं पाण्डवोडजातशगत्रु- न संयच्छेदक्षमदाभिभूत: । वृकोदर: सव्यसाची यमौ च कोजत्र द्वीप: स्यात् तुमुले वस्तदानीम्,जूएके मदमें भूले हुए अजातशत्रु युधिष्ठिर जब अपना क्रोध न रोक सकेंगे तथा भीमसेन, अर्जुन एवं नकुल-सहदेव भी जब क्रुद्ध हो उठेंगे, उस समय घमासान युद्ध छिड़ जानेपर विपत्तिके महासागरमें डूबते हुए तुमलोगोंका कौन आश्रयदाता होगा?
yadā manyuṁ pāṇḍavo ’jātaśatruḥ na saṁyacched kṣamā-dābhihūtaḥ | vṛkodaraḥ savyasācī yamau ca ko ’tra dvīpaḥ syāt tumule vastadānīm ||
Vidura warns that if Yudhiṣṭhira—called Ajātaśatru, ‘one who has no enemies’—overpowered by wounded forbearance, can no longer restrain his anger, and if Bhīma, Arjuna, and the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva also rise in wrath, then when a terrible, all-consuming war breaks out, who among you will be an island of refuge for those drowning in the ocean of calamity?
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not push the righteous beyond the limits of patience. When forbearance is exhausted, even the most peace-loving can become unstoppable, and then no one can serve as a ‘safe island’ against the flood of consequences.
Vidura cautions the Kuru side that if Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers are driven into anger, a catastrophic war will erupt. He frames the coming conflict as an ocean of disaster and asks who will be able to protect them once that turmoil begins.