Shloka 9

कृष्ण-दूतविषये दुर्योधनस्य बन्धन-प्रस्तावः — Duryodhana’s Proposal to Detain Krishna

Envoy-Ethics Debate

Devanagari script

पज्च पज्चैव लिप्सन्ति ग्रामकान्‌ पाण्डवा नृूप । न च दित्ससि तेभ्यस्तांस्तच्छमं न करिष्यसि

Transliteration

pañca pañcaiva lipsanti grāmakān pāṇḍavā nṛpa | na ca ditsasi tebhyaḥ tāṁs tac chamaṁ na kariṣyasi narendra ||

Translation

Vidura dijo: «Oh rey, los Pāṇḍavas sólo piden cinco aldeas—cinco para los cinco hermanos. Y, sin embargo, no quieres concederles ni siquiera esas aldeas. Esto deja claro, oh señor de los hombres, que no traerás la paz.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'pañca pañcaiva', 'definition': '‘five and five indeed’

• emphatic expression indicating a minimal demand (five villages for the five brothers)'}, {'term': 'lipsanti', 'definition': 'they desire, seek to obtain'}, {'term': 'grāmakān', 'definition': 'villages'}, {'term': 'pāṇḍavāḥ', 'definition': 'the Pāṇḍavas (sons of Pāṇḍu)'}, {'term': 'nṛpa / narendra', 'definition': 'king

• lord of men (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}, {'term': 'na ca', 'definition': 'and yet not'}, {'term': 'ditsasi', 'definition': 'you wish to give / you will give (here: you are not willing to give)'}, {'term': 'tebhyaḥ', 'definition': 'to them'}, {'term': 'tān', 'definition': 'those (villages)'}, {'term': 'śamam', 'definition': 'peace, pacification, settlement'}, {'term': 'kariṣyasi', 'definition': 'you will do, you will bring about'}]

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• Pāṇḍavas
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s dharma includes preventing needless war through fair settlement. When even a minimal, reasonable request is refused, it reveals a willful rejection of peace and a moral failure in kingship.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vidura confronts the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) during the tense pre-war negotiations, pointing out that the Pāṇḍavas ask only for five villages, yet the king’s side refuses even that, making reconciliation impossible.