Shloka 5
Drupada’s Instruction to the Purohita for the Kaurava Embassy (द्रुपदोपदेशः दूतप्रेषणम्)
पाण्डवश्व यथावृत्त: कुन्तीपुत्रो युधिष्ठिर: । धृतराष्ट्रस्य विदिते वज्चिता: पाण्डवा: परै:,कुन्तीपुत्र पाण्डुनन्दन युधिष्ठिरका आचार-विचार भी आपलोगोंसे छिपा नहीं है। धृतराष्ट्रकी जानकारीमें शत्रुओंने पाण्डवोंको ठगा है
pāṇḍavaś ca yathāvṛttaḥ kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | dhṛtarāṣṭrasya vidite vañcitāḥ pāṇḍavāḥ paraiḥ ||
“As for Kuntī’s son Yudhiṣṭhira—Pāṇḍu’s heir among the Pāṇḍavas—his conduct and the course of events are no secret to you. And it is with Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s knowledge that the Pāṇḍavas have been deceived by their adversaries.”
दुपद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s moral accountability includes what is done with his knowledge: Dhṛtarāṣṭra cannot be absolved if injustice occurs knowingly. The verse underscores ethical governance—awareness without intervention becomes complicity.
Drupada addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, reminding him that the Pāṇḍavas were deceived by their enemies and that this happened with Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s awareness—an argument meant to frame the Kaurava side as culpable and to justify firm political and moral response.