Shloka 22
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas
न दत्तवान् श्रियं दीप्तां पितृपैतामहीमिमाम् । महात्मा पाण्डव गुणवान् हैं तथापि उनके बाप-दादोंकी यह उज्ज्वल सम्पत्ति भी मैंने उन्हें नहीं दी ।। विनाशं पश्यमानो हि सर्वराज्ञां गदाग्रज:
na dattavān śriyaṃ dīptāṃ pitṛpaitāmahīm imām | mahātmā pāṇḍavo guṇavān haṃ tathāpi teṣāṃ pitṛpaitāmahīṃ dīptāṃ sampadam api nādām || vināśaṃ paśyamāno hi sarvarājñāṃ gadāgrajaḥ ||
Dijo Dhṛtarāṣṭra: «No concedí al noble y virtuoso Pāṇḍava esta prosperidad radiante que le correspondía por herencia—de sus padres y abuelos. Aun viendo desplegarse la ruina de todos los reyes, la retuve; y el hermano mayor del portador de la maza (Balarāma) también lo contempló.»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical failure of withholding rightful, hereditary sovereignty from a virtuous heir. It frames Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s omission as a root cause of wider catastrophe: when dharma in succession and justice is denied despite foreseeing harm, the resulting ruin becomes morally attributable to that denial.
In the Āśramavāsika context, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on past decisions after the war’s devastation. He confesses that he did not give the Pāṇḍavas their ancestral share of royal fortune, even while perceiving that such injustice would lead to the destruction of many kings—an admission of culpable blindness and attachment.