Shloka 12
उद्योगपर्व — गान्धारी-उपदेशः
Udyoga Parva — Gandhārī’s Counsel to Duryodhana
नृशंसानामनार्याणां पुरुषाणां च भाषणम् । कर्णदु:शासनाभ्यां च त्वया च बहुश: कृतम्,“दुर्योधन! तूने कर्ण और दुःशासनके साथ अनेक बार निर्दयी तथा अनार्य पुरुषोंकी-सी बातें कही हैं
nṛśaṃsānām anāryāṇāṃ puruṣāṇāṃ ca bhāṣaṇam | karṇa-duḥśāsanābhyāṃ ca tvayā ca bahuśaḥ kṛtam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “You have repeatedly spoken the kind of words used by cruel and ignoble men—again and again—together with Karṇa and Duḥśāsana.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns cruel and ignoble speech as a moral failing. It implies that words are ethical actions: repeated harsh, adharma-aligned talk—especially in bad company—reveals and reinforces unrighteous character.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and recriminations, Duryodhana is censured for repeatedly speaking in a cruel, un-ārya manner, influenced and accompanied by Karṇa and Duḥśāsana—highlighting the Kaurava camp’s escalating hostility before war.