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Shloka 19

Saṃjaya’s Warning to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: Accountability, Alliance-Shift, and the Pāṇḍava Strategic Edge

भक्‍्त्या हास्य विरुध्यन्ते तव पुत्र: सदैव ते । अनहनिव तु वधे धर्मयुक्तान्‌ विकर्मणा

bhaktyā hāsya virudhyante tava putrāḥ sadaiva te | anahaniva tu vadhe dharmayuktān vikarmaṇā |

Sañjaya dijo: «Por devoción al dharma y a Yudhiṣṭhira, ellos se oponen siempre a tus hijos. Y, sin embargo, esos hombres, firmes en la rectitud y jamás dignos de muerte, han sido afligidos por una conducta inicua. Por eso tu hijo pecador, Duryodhana—que sin cesar los ha dañado con proceder perverso y aun ahora los odia—debe ser contenido por todos los medios, junto con sus partidarios. No te consumas una y otra vez en este duelo. En el tiempo del juego de dados, yo y el sapientísimo Vidura te dimos este mismo consejo, pero no lo atendiste.»

भक्त्याby devotion/loyalty
भक्त्या:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootभक्ति
FormFeminine, Instrumental, Singular
हास्यlaughter; ridicule
हास्य:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootहास्य
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
विरुध्यन्तेthey oppose; they are at variance
विरुध्यन्ते:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootविरुध्
FormPresent, Third, Plural, Atmanepada
तवof you; your
तव:
TypePronoun
Rootयुष्मद्
FormGenitive, Singular
पुत्राःsons
पुत्राः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootपुत्र
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
सदैवalways
सदैव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootसदैव
तेto you; for you
ते:
Sampradana
TypePronoun
Rootयुष्मद्
FormDative, Singular

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
D
Dhṛtarāṣṭra
K
Kauravas (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons)
P
Pāṇḍavas
Y
Yudhiṣṭhira
D
Duryodhana
V
Vidura
D
Dyūta (dice-game)

Educational Q&A

A ruler must restrain a wayward, hateful heir even if he is one’s own son; devotion to dharma naturally creates opposition to adharma, and ignoring wise counsel (especially after the dice-game) leads to escalating harm and inevitable conflict.

Sañjaya addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra, explaining that the Pāṇḍavas oppose the Kauravas out of devotion to dharma and loyalty to Yudhiṣṭhira. He urges Dhṛtarāṣṭra to control Duryodhana and his faction, reminding him that the same warning was given earlier by Sañjaya and Vidura during the dice-game episode.