Shloka 31
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा—व्यासोपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Collapse and Vyāsa’s Counsel
राजन! नरेश्वर! यह जो तुम्हारा पुत्र दुर्योधन था, वह सारे जगत्का संहार करनेके लिये कलिका मूर्तिमान् अंश ही गान्धारीके पेटसे पैदा हुआ था। वह अमर्षशील, क्रोधी, चंचल और कूटनीतिसे काम लेनेवाला था ।। दैवयोगात् समुत्पन्ना भ्रातरश्नास्य तादृशा: । शकुनिर्मातुलश्चैव कर्णश्ष परम: सखा
rājan nareśvara yaḥ sa tava putro duryodhanaḥ sa sarvajagatsaṃhārāya kalikā mūrtimān aṃśa eva gāndhāryāḥ peṭāt prādurbhūtaḥ | sa amarṣaśīlaḥ krodhī cañcalaḥ kūṭanītinā ca kāryaṃ kurvāṇaḥ || daivayogāt samutpannā bhrātaraś cāsya tādṛśāḥ | śakunir mātulaś caiva karṇaś ca paramaḥ sakhā ||
Vyāsa said: “O king, lord of men! This son of yours, Duryodhana, was born from Gāndhārī’s womb as a manifest portion of Kali, for the very purpose of bringing destruction upon the world. He was intolerant of affront, quick to anger, fickle, and one who achieved his ends through crooked policy. By the conjunction of fate, his brothers too arose with a similar disposition; and his maternal uncle Śakuni, along with Karṇa, became his closest ally.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames catastrophic conflict as arising from a convergence of inner vices (anger, fickleness, deceitful policy) and daiva (fate). Ethically, it warns that when rulers normalize kūṭanīti and resentment, they become instruments of wider social ruin, regardless of lineage or power.
Vyāsa addresses the grieving king Dhṛtarāṣṭra, characterizing Duryodhana as an embodied portion of Kali destined for destruction, and notes that his brothers shared similar tendencies. He also points to Śakuni and Karṇa as key associates who strengthened Duryodhana’s course.