Shloka 8
Gāndhārī’s Grief, Vyāsa’s Pacification, and the Ethics of Retaliation (गान्धारी-शोकः शमोपदेशश्च)
ततोअन्यवृत्तमात्मानं समवेक्षस्व भारत । राजंस्त्वं हविधेयात्मा दुर्योधनवशे स्थित:
tato 'nyavṛttam ātmānaṁ samavekṣasva bhārata | rājan tvaṁ ha vidheyātmā duryodhanavaśe sthitaḥ ||
そのとき、ああバーラタよ、変わり果てた己が振る舞いの道筋を、つぶさに見つめよ。王よ、汝は他者に意志を支配される者となり、ドゥルヨーダナの勢力の下に立っている——自制と分別を失えば、統治者はダルマから遠ざかり、破滅を招く選択へと迷い込むという倫理の警めである。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must retain self-governance and moral discernment; surrendering one’s will to a partial, unrighteous influence (here, Duryodhana) is portrayed as a decisive ethical failure that distorts conduct and leads to destructive outcomes.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating events, points to the king’s changed behavior and urges him to examine himself, emphasizing that he has been acting under Duryodhana’s dominance—framing the catastrophe as rooted in compromised judgment and misplaced compliance.