Shloka 7
Kuntī–Karṇa Saṃvāda: Lineage Disclosure and Appeal to Fraternal Dharma
“जयद्रथ, कर्ण, दुःशासन तथा शकुनिकी खोटी बुद्धिसे कौरव-पाण्डवोंमें परस्पर फूट होकर ही रहेगी ।।
adharmeṇa hi dharmiṣṭha kṛtaṃ vaikāryam īdṛśam | yeṣāṃ teṣām ayaṃ dharmaḥ sānubandho bhaviṣyati ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O most righteous one, this kind of perverse deed—done through adharma and meant to breed mutual discord—has been carried out. For those to whom such an adharma-born act appears to be ‘dharma’, that very distorted ‘dharma’ will inevitably follow them with its consequences.” (In context: the Kauravas, despite having promised to restore the Pāṇḍavas’ kingdom in the fourteenth year, did not keep their pledge; their self-justifying ‘dharma’ will ripen into suffering and ruin.)
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When people label an adharma-born, divisive act as ‘dharma’, that distorted moral reasoning does not absolve them; it inevitably brings a chain of consequences—suffering, downfall, and further entanglement.
In the Udyoga Parva’s lead-up to war, Vaiśampāyana points to the Kaurava side’s corrupt judgment—figures like Jayadratha, Karṇa, Duḥśāsana, and Śakuni—and underscores that their adharma (including broken promises to the Pāṇḍavas) will mature into unavoidable repercussions.