Shloka 34
Bhagadattā’s Deployment Against Ghaṭotkaca; Elephant-Corps Escalation
लोभमोहसमादविष्ट: पुत्रप्रीत्या जनाधिप । न बुध्यसे पुरा यत् तत् तथ्यमुक्तं वचो महत्,जनेश्वर! आपने अपने पुत्रोंके प्रति प्रेमके कारण लोभ और मोहके वशीभूत हो, विदुरने पहले जो सत्य एवं हितकी महत्त्वपूर्ण बात बतायी थी, उसपर ध्यान नहीं दिया
sañjaya uvāca | lobhamohasamādaviṣṭaḥ putraprītyā janādhipa | na budhyase purā yat tat tathyam uktaṃ vaco mahat ||
Sanjaya said: O ruler of men, overcome by greed and delusion through your affection for your sons, you did not heed earlier that great and truthful counsel which was spoken for your welfare. Thus blinded by attachment, you failed to recognize what was right before the calamity unfolded.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s judgment collapses when attachment (putraprīti) fuels greed and delusion (lobha–moha). Ethical governance requires heeding truthful, welfare-oriented counsel in time; ignoring it leads to ruin.
Sanjaya addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra, explaining that his partiality toward his sons made him succumb to greed and delusion, so he failed to heed earlier weighty, truthful advice—identified in the Gita Press gloss as Vidura’s counsel—before events moved toward war.