Shloka 41
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
द्रोणस्य भीष्मस्य च नास्ति सत्त्व॑ क्षत्तुस्तथैवास्य महात्मनोडपि । राज्ञस्तथा हीममधर्ममुग्रं न लक्षयन्ते कुरुवृद्धमुख्या:
droṇasya bhīṣmasya ca nāsti sattvaṃ kṣattuḥ tathaivāsya mahātmano 'pi | rājñas tathā hīmam adharmaṃ ugraṃ na lakṣayante kuru-vṛddha-mukhyāḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: “En Droṇa y en Bhīṣma ya no queda fuerza para actuar; ni siquiera en el magnánimo Kṣattṛ (Vidura). Lo mismo ocurre con el rey Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Por eso los principales ancianos de los Kurus no advierten el adharma terrible, helador—esa feroz injusticia—que se está perpetrando (bajo el influjo de Duryodhana).”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When elders and authorities lose moral courage (sattva) and fail to restrain wrongdoing, adharma spreads unchecked; ethical responsibility includes the duty to recognize and oppose injustice, not merely to possess status or wisdom.
The narrator observes that key Kuru authorities—Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Vidura, and King Dhṛtarāṣṭra—are unable or unwilling to act decisively, and thus the Kuru elders do not confront the terrifying adharma unfolding in the court, associated with Duryodhana’s conduct.