Shloka 12

Devanagari script

जातो<सि धर्मलोपेन ततस्ते बुद्धिरीदूशी,“तुम्हारा जन्म (कन्यावस्थामें ही कुन्तीके गर्भसे उत्पन्न होनेके कारण) धर्मलोपसे हुआ है; इसीलिये नीच पुरुषोंके आश्रयसे तुम्हारी बुद्धि इस प्रकार ईर्ष्यावश गुणवान्‌ पाण्डवोंसे भी द्वेष रखनेवाली हो गयी है और इसीके कारण कौरवसभामें मैंने तुम्हें अनेक बार कटुवचन सुनाये हैं

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | jāto 'si dharmalopena tatas te buddhir īdūṣī |

Translation

Sanjaya said: “You were born through a lapse of dharma; therefore your understanding has become corrupted. Taking refuge among base men, your mind—driven by envy—has come to hate even the virtuous Pāṇḍavas; and because of this, in the Kaurava assembly I have many times had to hear bitter words from you.”

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sanjaya said', 'jātaḥ asi': 'you were born / you have been born', 'dharmalopena': 'through a loss/violation of dharma

• by a breach of righteous conduct', 'tataḥ': 'therefore

• from that cause', 'te': 'your', 'buddhiḥ': 'intellect

• moral understanding', 'īdūṣī (dūṣitā)': 'tainted

• defiled', 'īrṣyā': 'envy

• jealousy', 'guṇavān': 'virtuous

• possessing good qualities', 'pāṇḍavāḥ': 'the sons of Pāṇḍu

• the Pāṇḍavas', 'dveṣa': 'hatred

• hostility', 'kuru-sabhā / kaurava-sabhā': 'the Kaurava court/assembly', 'kaṭu-vacana': 'harsh/bitter speech

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Kunti
• Pandavas
• Kaurava assembly (Kaurava-sabha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A breach of dharma is portrayed as having ethical consequences: it clouds discernment (buddhi), fosters envy (īrṣyā), and leads to hostility (dveṣa) even toward the virtuous. The verse links moral lapse with degraded associations and destructive speech in public life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya addresses a person whose birth is described as arising from a lapse of dharma (alluding to Kuntī’s premarital conception). He explains that this has led to a corrupted mindset, envy-driven hatred of the Pāṇḍavas, and repeated bitter exchanges in the Kaurava court.