Shloka 48
Adhyāya 128 — Proposal to Restrain Keśava; Sātyaki’s Warning and Vidura–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Counsel
न चैष शक्तः पार्थानां यस्त्वमर्थमभीप्ससि । सूतपुत्रो दृढक्रोधो भ्राता दुःशासनश्व ते
na caiṣa śaktaḥ pārthānāṃ yastvam artham abhīpsasi | sūtaputro dṛḍhakrodho bhrātā duḥśāsanaś ca te ||
Vaiśampāyana said: You are not able to seize the wealth you desire from the sons of Pṛthā (Kuntī). Nor can Karṇa—the charioteer’s son, fierce and unyielding in wrath—or your brother Duḥśāsana accomplish it.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unjustly coveting and attempting to seize others’ rightful wealth is both ethically wrong and practically doomed; even strong, wrathful allies cannot make adharma succeed against rightful claim.
In the lead-up to war, a speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) rebukes the attempt to appropriate the Pāṇḍavas’ wealth, asserting that neither the addressee nor his chief supporters—Karṇa and Duḥśāsana—have the power to carry out that wrongful aim.