Shloka 30
ऋषीणां च तथान्येषां व्यासस्यामिततेजस: । न कृतं तेन वचन तव पुत्रेण भारत,“महाराज! महाबाहो! भरतनन्दन! कुरुकुलके ज्ञानवृद्ध पुरुष भीष्म, गान्धारी, विदुर, द्रोणाचार्य, शरद्वानके पुत्र कृपाचार्य, श्रीकृष्ण, बुद्धिमान् देवर्षि नारद, अमिततेजस्वी वेदव्यास तथा अन्य महर्षियोंकी भी बातें आपके पुत्रने नहीं मानी
ṛṣīṇāṃ ca tathānyeṣāṃ vyāsasyāmitatejasaḥ | na kṛtaṃ tena vacanaṃ tava putreṇa bhārata ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O Bhārata, your son did not act upon the counsel given by the sages and by others—nor even by the mighty Vyāsa of immeasurable splendor.”
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ethically, the verse highlights the ruin that follows when a leader rejects wise counsel—especially counsel grounded in dharma and offered by venerable authorities like sages and Vyāsa. Pride and obstinacy sever one from corrective guidance, making catastrophe more likely and accountability unavoidable.
In the opening of Strī Parva, Vaiśaṃpāyana recounts to Janamejaya the causes and consequences surrounding the war’s aftermath. Here he emphasizes that Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (implicitly Duryodhana) repeatedly refused the advice of sages and eminent elders, including Vyāsa—setting the stage for the grief and lamentation that dominate this parva.