Shloka 13
Droṇācārya’s Assessment of the Pāṇḍavas: Nīti, Kāla, and Intelligence (विराटपर्व, अध्याय २६)
अथाग्रजानन्तरज: पापभावानुरागवान् | ज्येष्ठं दुःशासनस्तत्र भ्राता भ्रातरमब्रवीत्,तदनन्तर सदा पापभावनामें अनुरक्त रहनेवाला दुर्योधनसे छोटा भाई दुःशासन अपने बड़े भाईसे बोला--
athāgrajānantara-jaḥ pāpabhāvānurāgavān | jyeṣṭhaṃ duḥśāsanas tatra bhrātā bhrātaram abravīt ||
Alors Duḥśāsana —le cadet né après l’aîné, toujours attaché à une inclination pécheresse— s’adressa là à son frère aîné. Le récit souligne comment la corruption morale devenue habitude et la partialité au sein de la parenté engendrent des avis funestes et approfondissent l’adharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Duḥśāsana as driven by pāpa-bhāva (a corrupt moral disposition) and attachment, implying that counsel arising from such inner tendencies leads one’s community—especially family—toward adharma.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Duḥśāsana, Duryodhana’s younger brother, speaks to his elder brother, setting up the content of his advice or provocation in the surrounding passage.