Shloka 14
Vasiṣṭhāpavāha: Sarasvatī’s Diversion and Viśvāmitra’s Curse (वसिष्ठापवाहः)
तस्मिंस्तु विधिवत् सत्रे सम्प्रवृत्ते सुदारुणे । अक्षीयत ततो राष्ट्र धृतराष्ट्रस्य पार्थिव
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tasmiṁs tu vidhivat satre sampravṛtte sudāruṇe | akṣīyata tato rāṣṭra dhṛtarāṣṭrasya pārthiva | krodhena mahatāviṣṭo dharmātmā vai pratāpavān |
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô roi, lorsque cette session sacrificielle, d’une férocité effroyable, fut engagée selon l’ordre rituel prescrit, dès cet instant le royaume de Dhṛtarāṣṭra commença à dépérir. Car l’ascète juste et puissant—saisi d’une grande colère—avait mis en mouvement un rite dont la puissance consumait le pays.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even actions performed with full ritual correctness (vidhivat) can become ethically destructive when driven by intense anger; power without inner restraint turns into a force that erodes social and political order.
A fearsome satra (extended sacrificial rite) begins, and from its commencement Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s realm is said to diminish—implying that the rite, propelled by a wrathful yet powerful ascetic, has tangible consequences for the kingdom.