Shloka 10
धृतराष्ट्राश्रमगमनम् — The Pandavas’ Procession to Dhritarashtra’s Hermitage
अपनी महिमासे कभी च्युत न होनेवाले राजा पाण्डुको तुम मरुद्गणोंसे भी श्रेष्ठतम समझो। विदुर धर्मके अंश थे। राजा युधिष्ठिर भी धर्मके ही अंश हैं ।। कलिं दुर्योधनं विद्धि शकुनिं द्वापरं तथा । दुःशासनादीन विद्धि त्वं राक्षसान् शुभदर्शने
kalim duryodhanaṃ viddhi śakuniṃ dvāparaṃ tathā | duḥśāsanādīn viddhi tvaṃ rākṣasān śubhadarśane ||
Vyāsa berkata: “Ketahuilah Duryodhana sebagai perwujudan Kali, dan Śakuni sebagai perwujudan Dvāpara. Dan engkau, wahai yang berpandangan mujur, pahamilah Duḥśāsana dan yang lainnya sebagai berwatak rākṣasa.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse interprets key Kaurava figures as embodiments of destructive cosmic-moral forces (Kali, Dvāpara, rākṣasa-nature), teaching that adharma is not only personal vice but can appear as a larger pattern of moral degeneration that corrupts judgment, fuels cruelty, and precipitates catastrophe.
Vyāsa is explaining the deeper nature of the principal antagonists: Duryodhana is identified with Kali, Śakuni with Dvāpara, and Duḥśāsana and others as rākṣasa-like. This frames the past events of the Bhārata conflict as driven by forces of decline and violence, not merely human rivalry.