Shloka 18
Divākara-prasāda and the Establishment of Akṣaya-anna
Sūrya’s Favor and Inexhaustible Provision
धघतयाट्र उवाच एतद् वाक््यं विदुर यत् ते सभाया- मिह प्रोक्तं पाण्डवान् प्राप्य मां च । हित॑ तेषामहितं मामकाना- मेतत् सर्व मम नावैति चेत:,धृतराष्ट्रने कहा--विदुर! तुमने यहाँ सभामें पाण्डवोंके तथा मेरे विषयमें जो बात कही है वह पाण्डवोंके लिये तो हितकर है, पर मेरे पुत्रोंक लिये अहितकारक है, अत: यह सब मेरा मन स्वीकार नहीं करता है
Dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca: etad vākyaṃ vidura yat te sabhāyām iha proktaṃ pāṇḍavān prāpya māṃ ca | hitaṃ teṣām ahitaṃ māmakānām etat sarvaṃ mama naivaiti cetaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Vidura, the words you spoke here in the assembly concerning the Pāṇḍavas and me—those words are beneficial to them, but harmful to my own sons. Therefore my mind does not accept all of it.”
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment and factional loyalty distort moral judgment: Dhṛtarāṣṭra recognizes Vidura’s counsel as beneficial to the Pāṇḍavas, yet rejects it because it threatens his own sons, showing the ethical danger of partiality in leadership.
In the royal assembly context, Vidura has offered advice addressing both the Pāṇḍavas and Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Dhṛtarāṣṭra responds that the counsel favors the Pāṇḍavas and disadvantages his sons (the Kauravas), and therefore he cannot accept it.