Shloka 346
राजा राष्ट्रेश्वरं कृत्वा धृतराष्ट्रोड्द्य शोचति । हमलोग अवध्य नरेशोंका वध करके संसारमें निन्दाके पात्र हो गये। राजा धृतराष्ट्र इस कुलका विनाश करनेवाले दुर्बुद्धि एवं पापात्मा दुर्योधनको इस राष्ट्रका स्वामी बनाकर आज शोककी आगमें जल रहे हैं
rājā rāṣṭreśvaraṁ kṛtvā dhṛtarāṣṭro ’dya śocati | vayam avadhya-nareśānāṁ vadhaṁ kṛtvā saṁsāre nindā-pātrāṇi jātāḥ | rājā dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ asya kulasya vināśa-kāriṇaṁ durbuddhiṁ pāpātmānaṁ duryodhanaṁ rāṣṭrasya svāminaṁ kṛtvā adya śoka-agnau dahyate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Having made Duryodhana the lord of the realm, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra now grieves. And we too—by killing kings who ought not to have been slain—have become objects of blame in the world. Dhṛtarāṣṭra, after appointing as sovereign of this kingdom that evil-minded, sinful Duryodhana, the very agent of his family’s ruin, is today being consumed by the fire of sorrow.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power entrusted to an unrighteous heir brings ruin to the family and suffering to the ruler; moreover, even a ‘victorious’ side can incur moral blame when violence crosses dharmic limits—hence Yudhiṣṭhira’s emphasis on responsibility, restraint, and the ethical cost of war.
In Śānti Parva, after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on the catastrophe: Dhṛtarāṣṭra is tormented because he made Duryodhana sovereign, and Yudhiṣṭhira confesses that their killing of many kings has made them targets of public censure, intensifying the postwar moral crisis.