Shloka 4
Gāndhārī’s Grief, Vyāsa’s Pacification, and the Ethics of Retaliation (गान्धारी-शोकः शमोपदेशश्च)
'ऐसे विद्वान, परम बुद्धिमान् और बलाबलका निर्णय करनेमें समर्थ होकर भी अपने ही अपराधसे होनेवाले इस विनाशको देखकर आप ऐसा क्रोध क्यों कर रहे हैं? ।। उत्तवांस्त्वां तदैवाहं भीष्मद्रोणी च भारत । विदुर: संजयश्चैव वाक््यं राजन् न तत् कृथा:,“भरतनन्दन! मैंने तो उसी समय आपसे यह बात कह दी थी, भीष्म, द्रोणाचार्य, विदुर और संजयने भी आपको समझाया था। राजन! परंतु आपने किसीकी बात नहीं मानी
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
īdṛśo vidvān paramabuddhimān balābalasya nirṇaye samarthaś ca san api svāparādhajaṃ vināśam imaṃ dṛṣṭvā tvaṃ krodhaṃ kathaṃ karoṣi? ||
uktavāṃs tvāṃ tadaivāhaṃ bhīṣma-droṇī ca bhārata |
viduraḥ saṃjayaś caiva vākyaṃ rājan na tat kṛthāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Though you are learned, supremely intelligent, and capable of judging what is strength and what is weakness, why do you now give way to anger when you behold this ruin—brought about by your own wrongdoing? I told you this very thing at the time, O descendant of Bharata; Bhīṣma and Droṇa did as well, and Vidura and Saṃjaya too. Yet, O king, you did not act upon their counsel.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Anger is misplaced when the calamity is the fruit of one’s own wrongdoing; wisdom includes accepting responsibility and heeding sound counsel before disaster becomes irreversible.
In the aftermath of the war, the speaker reminds the king that the ruin he laments was foreseen and repeatedly warned against by trusted elders and advisors—yet the king failed to follow their guidance.