Shloka 13
उद्योगपर्व — गान्धारी-उपदेशः
Udyoga Parva — Gandhārī’s Counsel to Duryodhana
सह मात्रा प्रदग्धुं तान् बालकान् वारणावते । आस्थित: परमं यत्नं न समृद्धं च तत् तव,“तूने वारणावत नगरमें बाल्यावस्थामें पाण्डवोंको उनकी मातासहित जला डालनेका महान् प्रयत्न किया था, परंतु तेरा वह उद्देश्य सफल न हो सका
saha mātrā pradagdhuṃ tān bālakān vāraṇāvate | āsthitaḥ paramaṃ yatnaṃ na samṛddhaṃ ca tat tava ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “At Vāraṇāvata you undertook the utmost effort to burn those boys—the Pāṇḍavas—together with their mother. Yet that design of yours did not succeed.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Schemes rooted in adharma—especially violence against the innocent—carry grave moral blame and are ultimately thwarted; the verse highlights the ethical condemnation of such intent and the failure of unjust designs.
Vaiśampāyana recalls the Vāraṇāvata episode: an attempt was made to burn the young Pāṇḍavas along with their mother in that city, but the plan did not succeed.