Shloka 12
Duryodhana-patana-anuśocana
The Fall of Duryodhana and the Contest of Restraint
अबुद्धिरेषा महती धर्मराजस्य पाण्डव
abuddhir eṣā mahatī dharmarājasya pāṇḍava
Vāyu said: “This is a grave lack of discernment on the part of Dharmarāja—the Pāṇḍava.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a ruler famed for dharma must exercise buddhi (clear discernment). When judgment is clouded—by grief, anger, or misplaced scruple—it becomes a serious ethical failing, because a king’s inner confusion can misdirect action and responsibility.
Vāyudeva addresses Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja), rebuking him for a ‘great folly’—a moment where Yudhiṣṭhira’s decision or attitude is judged as lacking proper discernment amid the tense moral and political circumstances surrounding the war’s consequences.