Shloka 5

धृतराष्ट्रस्य बलाबलचिन्ता

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Strength and Preference for Śama

Devanagari script

दुर्योधनेयं चिन्ता मे शश्वन्न व्युपशाम्यति । सत्यं होतदहं मन्ये प्रत्यक्ष नानुमानत:

Transliteration

duryodhaneyaṁ cintā me śaśvān na vyupaśāmyati | satyaṁ hotad ahaṁ manye pratyakṣaṁ nānumānataḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Mi inquietud por Duryodhana nunca se apaga del todo. Tengo esto por verdad: no por mera conjetura, sino por lo que veo con mis propios ojos».

Word by Word

• {'duryodhaneyam': 'concerning Duryodhana

• about Duryodhana', 'cintā': 'anxiety, worry, concern', 'me': 'my', 'śaśvān': 'always, continually', 'na': 'not', 'vyupaśāmyati': 'subsides, becomes calm, ceases', 'satyam': 'truth

• truly', 'etat (hotad)': 'this (reading likely etad

• here written hotad)', 'aham': 'I', 'manye': 'I think, I consider', 'pratyakṣam': 'directly perceived

• evident to the senses', 'na anumānataḥ': 'not from inference

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Duryodhana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts pratyakṣa (direct evidence) with anumāna (inference), urging that grave ethical-political judgments should rest on clear, observed realities rather than speculation.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Vaiśampāyana reports a speaker’s persistent worry about Duryodhana, asserting that the concern is grounded in what is plainly seen, not guessed.