Shloka 4
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 126 — Kṛṣṇa’s Indictment of Misrule and the Varuṇa Analogy (कृष्णवाक्यं–धर्मपाशदृष्टान्तः)
भवान् क्षत्ता च राजा वाप्याचार्यो वा पितामह: । मामेव परिगर्हन्ते नान्यं कंचन पार्थिवम्
bhavān kṣattā ca rājā vāpy ācāryo vā pitāmahaḥ | mām eva parigarhante nānyaṃ kaṃcana pārthivam ||
“ನಾನು ನೋಡುತ್ತೇನೆ—ನೀನು, ಕ್ಷತ್ತಾ ವಿದುರ, ರಾಜನು (ನನ್ನ ತಂದೆ), ಆಚಾರ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಪಿತಾಮಹ—ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ನನ್ನನ್ನೇ ದೂಷಿಸುತ್ತೀರಿ; ಬೇರೆ ಯಾವ ರಾಜನನ್ನೂ ಅಲ್ಲ.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When a crisis grows from deliberate choices, moral responsibility is not diluted by power or status; elders and advisers may rightly hold the principal agent accountable, emphasizing dharma-based accountability in governance.
In the Udyoga Parva’s tense pre-war setting, the speaker reports that key elders—Vidura, the king Dhritarashtra, the teacher Drona, and the grandsire Bhishma—are directing their reproach toward a single person, indicating that they see him as chiefly responsible for the impending calamity.