Shloka 22

Devanagari script

तथैव तव पुत्रो5यं पृथिवीमेक इच्छति । मधु पश्यति सम्मोहात्‌ प्रपातं नानुपश्यति,इसी प्रकार आपका यह पुत्र दुर्योधन अकेला ही सारी पृथ्वीका राज्य भोगना चाहता है। यह मोहवश केवल मधुको ही देखता है, भावी पतन या विनाशकी ओर इसकी दृष्टि नहीं जाती है

Transliteration

tathaiva tava putro ’yaṃ pṛthivīm eka icchati | madhu paśyati sammohāt prapātaṃ nānupaśyati ||

Translation

So too, your son desires to possess the whole earth all by himself. Deluded by infatuation, he sees only the sweetness of gain, and does not look toward the precipice—his coming downfall and ruin.

Word by Word

तथाthus, in the same way

एवindeed, just

तवof you, your

पुत्रःson

अयम्this (one)

पृथिवीम्the earth, the kingdom/land

एकःalone, single

इच्छतिdesires, wants

मधुhoney; sweetness (pleasure)

पश्यतिsees

सम्मोहात्from delusion, due to infatuation

प्रपातम्a fall, downfall, precipice

नnot

अनुपश्यतिdoes not notice/foresee

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Duryodhana

Dhritarashtra

Earth (Pṛthivī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Unchecked greed and exclusivist ambition, when fueled by delusion, fixate on immediate pleasure ('honey') and ignore the inevitable consequences ('the precipice'). Ethical counsel urges foresight, restraint, and regard for dharma over short-term gain.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vidura is warning Dhritarashtra about Duryodhana’s mindset: he wants sole dominion over the entire kingdom and is intoxicated by the sweetness of power. Vidura cautions that this blindness to consequences is leading directly toward catastrophe.