Shloka 17
मुमूर्षुर्हि नर: सर्वान् वृक्षान् पश्यति काउचनान् । तथा त्वमपि गान्धारे विपरीतानि पश्यसि,'गान्धारीनन्दन! जैसे मरणासन्न मनुष्य सभी वृक्षोंको सुनहरे रंगका देखता है, उसी प्रकार तुम भी सब कुछ विपरीत ही देख रहे हो
sañjaya uvāca | mumūrṣur hi naraḥ sarvān vṛkṣān paśyati kāñcanān | tathā tvam api gāndhāre viparītāni paśyasi |
Sañjaya said: “For a man on the verge of death sees all trees as if they were made of gold. In the same way, O Dhṛtarāṣṭra, you too are perceiving everything in a distorted, inverted manner.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A mind clouded by impending ruin or overpowering attachment misperceives reality—seeing what is harmful as desirable and what is right as wrong. The verse warns that distorted perception leads to unethical judgment and disastrous decisions.
Sañjaya, reporting and advising during the Kurukṣetra crisis, rebukes Dhṛtarāṣṭra: like a dying man hallucinating trees as golden, the king is viewing events ‘in reverse’—misreading signs, counsel, and consequences due to attachment and confusion.