Shloka 5
Droṇa–Vidura–Gāndhārī Counsel in the Royal Assembly (धर्मार्थयुक्ता सभा-उपदेश-प्रकरणम्)
तदनन्तर सूर्यास्त होनेपर पाँचों भाई पाण्डव विराट आदि सब राजाओंको विदा करके संध्योपासना करनेके पश्चात् भगवान् श्रीकृष्णमें ही मन लगाकर कुछ कालतक उन्हींका ध्यान करते रहे। फिर दशार्हकुलभूषण श्रीकृष्णको बुलाकर वे उनके साथ गुप्त मन्त्रणा करने लगे ।। युधिछिर उवाच त्वया नागपुरं गत्वा सभायां धृतराष्ट्रज: । किमुक्त: पुण्डरीकाक्ष तन्नः शंसितुमहसि,युधिष्ठिर बोले--कमलनयन! आपने हस्तिनापुर जाकर कौरवसभामें धृतराष्ट्रपुत्र दुर्योधनसे क्या कहा, यह हमें बतानेकी कृपा करें
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
Tvayā Nāgapuraṃ gatvā sabhāyāṃ Dhṛtarāṣṭrajaḥ |
Kim uktaḥ Puṇḍarīkākṣa tan naḥ śaṃsitum arhasi ||
After the sun had set, the five Pāṇḍava brothers dismissed all the kings—Virāṭa and the rest—and, having performed the twilight worship, fixed their minds on Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone and meditated on him for a time. Then they summoned Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the glory of the Dāśārha line, and began secret counsel with him. Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O lotus-eyed one, when you went to Nāgapura (Hastināpura) and stood in the royal assembly, what did Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, Duryodhana, say to you? Please tell us.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic governance through truthful reporting and accountable diplomacy: before decisive action, leaders seek clear knowledge of what was said in the enemy court, so that choices about peace or war rest on informed counsel rather than impulse.
After Kṛṣṇa’s visit to Hastināpura, Yudhiṣṭhira asks him to recount what Duryodhana (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son) said in the Kuru assembly, setting the stage for confidential strategy and the next steps toward either reconciliation or conflict.