Shloka 26
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय ८७: सात्यकेरनुयात्रा
Sātyaki’s resolve and departure to reach Arjuna
(कर्णदुःशासनमते सौबलस्य च दुर्मते: । प्रत्याख्यातो महाबाहुः कुलान्तकरणेन मे ।।) कर्ण, दुःशासन और खोटी बुद्धिवाले शकुनिके मतमें आकर मेरे कुलका नाश करनेवाले दुर्योधनने महाबाहु श्रीकृष्णका तिरस्कार कर दिया। ततो दुःशासनस्यैव कर्णस्य च मतं द्वयो: । अन्ववर्तत मां हित्वा कृष्ट: कालेन दुर्मति:,फिर तो कालसे आदृष्ट हुए दुर्बुद्धि दुर्योधनने मुझे छोड़कर दुःशासन और कर्ण इन्हीं दोनोंके मतका अनुसरण किया
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | karṇa-duḥśāsana-mate saubalasya ca durmateḥ | pratyākhyāto mahābāhuḥ kulānta-karaṇena me || tato duḥśāsanasyaiva karṇasya ca mataṃ dvayoḥ | anvavartata māṃ hitvā kṛṣṭaḥ kālena durmatiḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: Influenced by the counsel of Karṇa and Duḥśāsana, and by the wicked-minded Śakuni, my son Duryodhana—who has become the destroyer of our lineage—spurned the mighty-armed Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Thereafter, that misguided one, driven as though by Time itself, abandoned my advice and followed only the opinion of those two—Duḥśāsana and Karṇa.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
When a leader rejects wise, dharmic counsel and instead follows flatterers and instigators, the result is ethical collapse and collective ruin; the verse also frames such downfall as being propelled by Kāla (Time), highlighting how entrenched vice makes disaster feel inevitable.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects with regret that Duryodhana, swayed by Karṇa, Duḥśāsana, and Śakuni, insulted and rejected Kṛṣṇa’s counsel; thereafter Duryodhana ignored his father and aligned himself with the advice of Karṇa and Duḥśāsana, accelerating the Kuru catastrophe.