Mahabharata 1.204.25 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 204, Shloka 25

Tilottamā, Sunda–Upasunda, and the Pāṇḍava Samaya (Ādi Parva 204)

Devanagari script

ट्रुपदो5पि महान्‌ राजा कृतवैरश्न नः पुरा । तस्य संग्रहणं राजन्‌ स्वपक्षस्य विवर्धनम्‌

Transliteration

trupado 'pi mahān rājā kṛtavairaś ca naḥ purā | tasya saṅgrahaṇaṃ rājan svapakṣasya vivardhanam ||

Translation

ವಿದುರನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ರಾಜನೇ, ದ್ರುಪದನೂ ಮಹಾನ್ ರಾಜನು; ಹಿಂದೆ ನಮ್ಮೊಂದಿಗೆ ಅವನಿಗೆ ವೈರವೂ ಉಂಟಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅವನನ್ನು ಮಿತ್ರನಾಗಿ ಸೇರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ಪಕ್ಷವನ್ನು ವೃದ್ಧಿಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತದೆ।

Word by Word

• त्रुपदः: Drupada
• त्रुपदः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रुपद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• महान्: great
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजा: king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृतवैरः: one who has made enmity (an enemy)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतवैर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नः: of us/our
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Plural

• पुरा: formerly/earlier
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

• तस्य: of him/of that (Drupada)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• संग्रहणम्: winning over/conciliating; taking into alliance
• संग्रहणम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: संग्रहण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• स्वपक्षस्य: of (our) own side/party
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वपक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• विवर्धनम्: increase/strengthening
• विवर्धनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विवर्धन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• Drupada
• King (addressed as rājan)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vidura emphasizes pragmatic statecraft: even a former enemy, if influential, should be tactfully won over when it strengthens one’s own side—provided it serves stability and strategic advantage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vidura counsels the king that Drupada, though previously hostile, is a powerful ruler; securing him as a friend/ally would increase their faction’s strength.