Shloka 30
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 31 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Instructions to Sañjaya
Peace Appeal and Five-Village Proposal
अनाप्तानां संग्रहात् त्वं नरेन्द्र तथा>5प्तानां निग्रहाच्चैव राजन | भूमिं स्फीतां दुर्बलत्वादनन्ता- मशक्तरस्त्वं रक्षितुं कौरवेय
anāptānāṁ saṁgrahāt tvaṁ narendra tathāptānāṁ nigrahāc caiva rājan | bhūmiṁ sphītāṁ durbalatvād anantām aśaktarās tvaṁ rakṣituṁ kauraveya ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai raja, karena engkau menghimpun orang-orang yang tidak sungguh setia, dan mengekang serta menjauhkan mereka yang setia dan cakap, engkau menjadi terlalu lemah. Wahai putra wangsa Kuru, engkau kini tak lagi mampu menjaga bumi yang luas dan makmur ini.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler weakens his own sovereignty by promoting the unworthy and suppressing the worthy. Sound kingship (rājadharma) requires discerning reliable allies, honoring competent supporters, and thereby maintaining the strength needed to protect a prosperous realm.
Sañjaya addresses the Kuru ruler, criticizing his political judgment: he has gathered unreliable people and restrained loyal, capable ones. As a result, despite possessing a vast and prosperous kingdom, he has become too weak to protect it—an admonition set against the mounting crisis that leads toward war.