Shloka 15
Vyāsa’s Counsel to Dhṛtarāṣṭra on Restraining Duryodhana (व्यास-धृतराष्ट्र-उपदेशः)
शक्र उवाच तव पुत्रसहस््रेषु पीड्यमानेषु शो भने । कि कृपायितवत्यत्र पुत्र एकत्र हन्यति,इन्द्रने कहा--कल्याणी! तुम्हारे तो सहस्रों पुत्र इसी प्रकार पीड़ित हो रहे हैं, फिर तुमने एक ही पुत्रके मार खानेपर यहाँ इतनी करुणा क्यों दिखायी?
śakra uvāca tava putra-sahasreṣu pīḍyamāneṣu śobhane | kiṁ kṛpāyitavaty atra putra ekatra hanyati ||
Śakra (Indra) said: “O fair one, when your thousands of sons are being afflicted in the same way, why have you shown such compassion here when only one son is being slain?”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse probes the ethics of selective compassion: if suffering is widespread, why does pity arise intensely for a single, immediate loss? It invites reflection on whether empathy should be consistent and universal rather than triggered only by proximity or personal attachment.
Indra (Śakra) addresses a woman grieving or showing strong pity over the killing of one son, and challenges her by pointing out that many of her sons have been suffering similarly; he questions the reason for her heightened compassion in this particular instance.