Mahabharata — Udyoga Parva, Shloka 5
Drupada’s Instruction to the Purohita for the Kaurava Embassy (द्रुपदोपदेशः दूतप्रेषणम्)
पाण्डवश्व यथावृत्त: कुन्तीपुत्रो युधिष्ठिर: । धृतराष्ट्रस्य विदिते वज्चिता: पाण्डवा: परै:
pāṇḍavaś ca yathāvṛttaḥ kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | dhṛtarāṣṭrasya vidite vañcitāḥ pāṇḍavāḥ paraiḥ ||
«Quant au fils de Kuntī, Yudhiṣṭhira des Pāṇḍava—fils de Pāṇḍu—sa conduite et le cours des événements ne te sont pas cachés. Et c’est avec la connaissance de Dhṛtarāṣṭra que les Pāṇḍava ont été trompés par leurs adversaires.»
दुपद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s moral accountability includes what is done with his knowledge: Dhṛtarāṣṭra cannot be absolved if injustice occurs knowingly. The verse underscores ethical governance—awareness without intervention becomes complicity.
Drupada addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, reminding him that the Pāṇḍavas were deceived by their enemies and that this happened with Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s awareness—an argument meant to frame the Kaurava side as culpable and to justify firm political and moral response.