Shloka 35
इत्येवमुक्ते वचने धृतराष्ट्रो महीपति: । प्रसादयामास मुनि नैतदेवं भवेदिति,उनके ऐसा कहनेपर महाराज धूृतराष्ट्रने मुनिको प्रसन्न किया और कहा--“भगवन्! ऐसा न हो'
ity evam ukte vacane dhṛtarāṣṭro mahīpatiḥ | prasādayāmāsa muniṁ naitad evaṁ bhaved iti |
When those words had thus been spoken, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra sought to appease the sage and said, “Revered sir, may it not be so.” In the ethical frame of the epic, the blind king’s response reveals anxious resistance to an unwelcome truth and an attempt to soften or avert the consequences being foretold.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a common ethical weakness in rulers: when confronted with hard counsel or ominous truth, one may try to placate the messenger and wish the outcome away rather than face responsibility and act decisively in accordance with dharma.
After a sage has spoken certain words (likely warning or foretelling an undesirable outcome), Dhṛtarāṣṭra responds by trying to please the sage and expresses a wish that what was said should not come to pass.