Shloka 12
Devanagari script
अबुद्धिरेषा महती धर्मराजस्य पाण्डव
Transliteration
abuddhir eṣā mahatī dharmarājasya pāṇḍava
Translation
Vāyu said: “This is a grave lack of discernment on the part of Dharmarāja—the Pāṇḍava.”
Word by Word
अबुद्धिःlack of understanding, folly
अबुद्धिः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअबुद्धि
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
एषाthis (she/this one)
एषा:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootएतद्
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
महतीgreat, very large
महती:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootमहत्
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
धर्मराजस्यof Dharmaraja (Yudhishthira)
धर्मराजस्य:
TypeNoun
Rootधर्मराज
FormMasculine, Genitive, Singular
पाण्डवO Pandava (descendant of Pandu)
पाण्डव:
TypeNoun
Rootपाण्डव
FormMasculine, Vocative, Singular
Speaker
वायुदेव उवाच
Characters & Entities
व
वायुदेव (Vāyudeva)ध
धर्मराज (Dharmarāja / Yudhiṣṭhira)प
पाण्डव (Pāṇḍava / descendant of Pāṇḍu)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Cross References
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Even a ruler famed for dharma must exercise buddhi (clear discernment). When judgment is clouded—by grief, anger, or misplaced scruple—it becomes a serious ethical failing, because a king’s inner confusion can misdirect action and responsibility.
Vāyudeva addresses Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja), rebuking him for a ‘great folly’—a moment where Yudhiṣṭhira’s decision or attitude is judged as lacking proper discernment amid the tense moral and political circumstances surrounding the war’s consequences.