Shloka 10
Adhyāya 128 — Proposal to Restrain Keśava; Sātyaki’s Warning and Vidura–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Counsel
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं-जनमेजय! पतिका यह वचन सुनकर यशस्विनी राजपुत्री गान्धारी महान् कल्याणका अनुसंधान करती हुई इस प्रकार बोली ।। गान्धायुवाच आनायय सुत॒ क्षिप्रं राज्यकामुकमातुरम् । न हि राज्यमशिष्टेन शकक््यं धर्मार्थलोपिना
Vaiśampāyana uvāca—Janamejaya! patikā idaṃ vacanaṃ śrutvā yaśasvinī rājaputrī Gāndhārī mahān kalyāṇasya anusandhānaṃ kurvatī evam uvāca. Gāndhāry uvāca—ānaya sutaṃ kṣipraṃ rājyakāmukam āturam; na hi rājyam aśiṣṭena śakyaṃ dharmārthalopinā.
Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Oh Janamejaya, tras oír las palabras de su esposo, la ilustre princesa Gāndhārī—resuelta a buscar el bien supremo—habló así. Gāndhārī dijo: “Traed a mi hijo aquí de inmediato, ese hombre febril consumido por el deseo del reino. Pues la soberanía no puede sostenerse de verdad por quien es inculto e indisciplinado, y destruye el dharma y el artha.”»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Political power (rājya) is not sustainable without discipline and ethical cultivation (śiṣṭācāra). A ruler driven by craving for power and who undermines dharma and artha cannot truly maintain sovereignty; legitimacy depends on self-control and protection of moral and social order.
After hearing her husband’s words, Gāndhārī—seeking the greater good—orders that her son be brought immediately. She characterizes him as agitated and power-hungry and warns that kingship cannot be secured by an undisciplined person who causes the decline of dharma and prosperity.