Shloka 4
Saṃjaya’s Warning to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: Accountability, Alliance-Shift, and the Pāṇḍava Strategic Edge
पिता श्रेष्ठ: सुहृद् यश्च सम्यक् प्रणिहितात्मवान् | आस्थेयं हि हितं तेन न द्रोग्धा गुरुरुच्यते,जो पिताके पदपर प्रतिष्ठित है, श्रेष्ठ सुहृदू है और मनमें भलीभाँति सावधानी रखनेवाला है, उसे अपने आश्रितोंका हितसाधन ही करना चाहिये। द्रोह रखनेवाला पुरुष पिता अथवा गुरुजन नहीं कहला सकता
sañjaya uvāca | pitā śreṣṭhaḥ suhṛd yaś ca samyak praṇihitātmavān | āstheyaṃ hi hitaṃ tena na drogdhā gurur ucyate ||
Sañjaya said: “A father—who is truly excellent, a genuine well-wisher, and one whose mind is rightly disciplined—ought to pursue only the welfare of those who depend on him. A man who harbors betrayal cannot be called a father or a teacher.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
True fatherhood and true spiritual/ethical authority are defined by disciplined intention and active concern for others’ welfare; betrayal (droha) disqualifies a person from being regarded as a father or guru in the moral sense.
In Sañjaya’s report during the tense pre-war negotiations of the Udyoga Parva, a moral criterion is stated: elders and guides must act as well-wishers and protectors; one who plots harm cannot claim the revered status of father or teacher.