Shloka 12
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 123 — Bhīṣma–Droṇa–Vidura Upadeśa to Duryodhana
Keśava-vākya aftermath
विपरीता व्वियं वृत्तिरसकृल्लक्ष्यते त्वयि
vaiśampāyana uvāca | viparītā hy iyaṃ vṛttir asakṛl lakṣyate tvayi |
Vaiśampāyana said: “This conduct of yours is indeed perverse; it is seen in you again and again. O Bhārata, the obstinate insistence you hold at this moment is itself unrighteous, and there is no fitting reason for it. This dreadful stubbornness brings harm and leads to great loss of life; it is not possible for you to make it succeed.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Repeatedly choosing a perverse course and clinging to an unjust demand (durāgraha) is itself adharma; it lacks proper justification and inevitably produces harm, even mass loss of life. Ethical counsel here stresses self-correction before consequences become irreversible.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and warnings, the narrator Vaiśampāyana reports a rebuke directed at a ‘Bhārata’ figure, criticizing his recurring contrary behavior and present stubborn insistence, and warning that such a stance cannot truly succeed and will lead to destructive outcomes.