Shloka 2
नलदमयन्त्युपाख्यानम्—नलप्रशंसा हंसदूतवृत्तान्तः
Nala–Damayantī Upākhyāna: Praise of Nala and the Swan-Messenger Episode
कथं च राजा पुत्र तमुपेक्षेताल्पचेतसम् । दुर्योधनं पाण्डुपुत्रान् कोपयानं महारथान्,उस मन्दबुद्धि राजकुमार दुर्योधनको ही किसी तरह त्याग देना उनके लिये सर्वथा उचित था जो महारथी पाण्डवोंको अपने दुर्व्यवहारसे कुपित करता जा रहा था
kathaṃ ca rājā putra tam upekṣetālpacetasam | duryodhanaṃ pāṇḍuputrān kopayānaṃ mahārathān ||
ジャナメージャヤは問うた。「王はどうして、あの息子――心狭く浅慮なドゥルヨーダナ――を顧みずにいられたのか。彼は不品行によって、偉大な戦車武者たるパーンドゥの子らを絶えず怒らせていたではないか。正義と国のために、王がその愚かな王子を抑え、あるいは退けるのが相応しかったのではないか。」
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s duty (rājadharma) includes restraining harmful conduct even when it comes from one’s own child. Indulgence toward a foolish, provocative heir becomes complicity in injustice and endangers the kingdom.
Janamejaya challenges the moral logic of the situation: he asks how the king could keep overlooking Duryodhana’s small-minded behavior as it repeatedly angered the powerful Pāṇḍavas, thereby intensifying hostility and pushing events toward open conflict.