Shloka 12
Gāndhārī’s Grief, Vyāsa’s Pacification, and the Ethics of Retaliation (गान्धारी-शोकः शमोपदेशश्च)
वैशम्पायन उवाच एवमुक्त: स कृष्णेन सर्व सत्यं जनाधिप । उवाच देवकीपुत्रं धृतराष्ट्री महीपति:
vaiśampāyana uvāca evam uktaḥ sa kṛṣṇena sarvaṃ satyaṃ janādhipa | uvāca devakīputraṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrī mahīpatiḥ ||
വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—കൃഷ്ണൻ ഇങ്ങനെ മുഴുവനായും സത്യമായ വാക്കുകൾ പറഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ, ഹേ ജനാധിപാ, ആ ഭൂപതി ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രൻ ദേവകീപുത്രനോട് മറുപടി പറഞ്ഞു.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights satya (truthfulness) as the ethical foundation of counsel and response: when guidance is fully truthful, a ruler is morally compelled to answer and act with accountability, especially amid the sorrow and reckoning after war.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that after Kṛṣṇa has spoken truthfully, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra then speaks to Kṛṣṇa (Devakī’s son), marking a transition to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s reply within the Stree Parva context.