Shloka 27
धृतराष्ट्रस्य वंशोपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Dynastic Counsel on Legitimate Rule
पाण्डवानां कुरूणां च राज्ञाममिततेजसाम् । विररामैवमुक्त्वा तु विदुरो दीनमानस: । प्रध्यायमान: स तदा नि: श्वसंश्व॒ पुन: पुन:
pāṇḍavānāṃ kurūṇāṃ ca rājñām amit-tejasām | virarāmaivam uktvā tu viduro dīna-mānasaḥ | pradhyāyamānaḥ sa tadā niḥśvasaṃś ca punaḥ punaḥ ||
Vidura, con el ánimo abatido, habló así y luego calló. Mientras meditaba hondamente, seguía exhalando largos suspiros una y otra vez, pues ante sus ojos veía acercarse la gran destrucción de los Pāṇḍava, de los Kuru y de otros reyes de poder inconmensurable. El verso subraya la tragedia ética de una guerra nacida de la obstinación: cuando se desprecia el consejo, incluso el sabio sólo puede lamentar el derrumbe del dharma que conduce a la ruina colectiva.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
When righteous counsel is disregarded and pride hardens into policy, the result is not a ‘victory’ but a shared catastrophe. Vidura’s silence and repeated sighs dramatize the moral weight of foreseen adharma: wisdom may warn, yet grief follows when leaders refuse restraint.
Vidura has delivered a grave warning about the impending ruin involving the Pāṇḍavas, the Kurus, and powerful allied kings. After speaking, he becomes silent, sinks into troubled contemplation, and repeatedly sighs—signaling that he perceives the near-inevitability of war and mass destruction.