Shloka 29
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 31 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Instructions to Sañjaya
Peace Appeal and Five-Village Proposal
त्वमेवैको जातु पुत्रस्य राजन् वशं गत्वा सर्वलोके नरेन्द्र । कामात्मन: श्लाघनो द्यूतकाले नागा: शमं पश्य विपाकमस्य
tvam evaiko jātu putrasya rājan vaśaṁ gatvā sarvaloke narendra | kāmātmanaḥ ślāghano dyūtakāle nāgāḥ śamaṁ paśya vipākam asya, rājan ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô Roi, seigneur des hommes, dans le monde entier, toi seul t’es véritablement placé sous l’emprise de ton fils et l’as loué — surtout au temps du jeu de dés — alors qu’il était gouverné par le désir. Puisque tu n’as pas voulu t’apaiser ni renoncer, vois maintenant de tes propres yeux l’effroyable mûrissement de cette conduite, ô Roi.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must not surrender judgment to attachment—especially parental attachment—and must restrain desire-driven wrongdoing early. Praising and enabling adharma, even indirectly, matures into severe consequences (vipāka) that one must eventually face.
Sañjaya rebukes Dhṛtarāṣṭra: he alone indulged and praised his son’s conduct, particularly during the dice-game episode, and failed to choose restraint and peace. Now, as war becomes inevitable, Sañjaya urges him to witness the terrible outcome of those earlier choices.