Shloka 99
द्वैपायनह्रदे दुर्योधनान्वेषणम् / The Search for Duryodhana at Dvaipāyana Lake
अन्धस्य नृपतेर्यष्टिलुब्धस्यादीर्घदर्शिन:,“लोभी, अदूरदर्शी और अन्धे राजाके लिये तुम लाठीके सहारे हो। मैंने उनसे युद्ध रोकनेके लिये बारंबार याचना की थी, परंतु दैवसे उनकी बुद्धि मारी गयी थी; इसलिये उन्होंने मेरी बात नहीं सुनी। आज वे संकटसे पीड़ित हैं, बेटा! इस अवस्थामें एकमात्र तुम्हीं उन्हें सहारा देनेके लिये जीवित हो
andhasya nṛpater yaṣṭilubdhasyādīrghadarśinaḥ | lobhī adūradarśī ca andho rājā yasya tvaṃ yaṣṭisahāyaḥ | mayā tasya yuddhaṃ nivārayituṃ punaḥ punaḥ prārthitaṃ, kintu daivāt tasya buddhir hatā; tasmān mama vacanaṃ na śuśrāva | adya sa saṅkaṭena pīḍitaḥ, putra! asyām avasthāyām ekamātras tvaṃ eva jīvitaḥ, yaḥ taṃ dhārayituṃ śaknuṣyasi ||
サンジャヤは言った。「あの盲目の王――貪り深く、先を見通す知恵に欠ける者――にとって、おまえはまさに寄りかかる杖そのものだ。私は幾度となく戦を止めるよう懇願したが、運命によってその判断は打ち砕かれ、ゆえに王は私の言葉に耳を貸さなかった。いまや王は災厄に押し潰されている、わが子よ。この有様では、王を支えるために生き残ったのはおまえただ一人なのだ。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts wise counsel with a ruler’s moral and intellectual blindness: greed and short-sightedness make one dependent on others for guidance, and when fate (or one’s own hardened disposition) overwhelms judgment, even repeated good advice goes unheeded—leading to calamity and belated reliance on the very supports previously ignored.
Sanjaya addresses the situation of the blind king Dhṛtarāṣṭra, recalling that he repeatedly urged him to stop the war. Since the king did not listen and is now overwhelmed by disaster, Sanjaya points out that the addressee is effectively the king’s remaining support in his crisis.