Shloka 10
Vidura’s Recall from Kāmyaka-vana and Reconciliation with Dhṛtarāṣṭra (विदुरानयनम् / क्षमायाचनम्)
सर्वे भवामो मध्यस्था राज्ञश्छन्दानुवर्तिन: । छिद्रं बहु प्रपश्यन्त: पाण्डवानां सुसंवृता:,हम सब लोग राजाकी आज्ञाका पालन करते हुए मध्यस्थ हो जायँगे और छिपे-छिपे पाण्डवोंके बहुत-से छिद्र देखते रहेंगे
sarve bhavāmo madhyasthā rājñaś chandānuvartinaḥ | chidraṃ bahu prapaśyantaḥ pāṇḍavānāṃ susaṃvṛtāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Let us all present ourselves as neutral arbiters, outwardly complying with the king’s wishes; yet, remaining well-concealed, we shall keep watching for many vulnerabilities in the Pāṇḍavas.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical tension: claiming neutrality while secretly serving a ruler’s agenda. It cautions that ‘middle-standing’ (madhyastha) can be corrupted when driven by obedience to power and the search for an opponent’s ‘chidra’ (vulnerability).
The speaker reports a plan in which certain parties will outwardly act as impartial mediators in accordance with the king’s wishes, while covertly watching for weaknesses in the Pāṇḍavas—suggesting concealed hostility under the guise of arbitration.