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 ||
അപ്പോൾ, ഹേ ഭാരതാ, നിന്റെ മാറിപ്പോയ പെരുമാറ്റത്തെ നീ തന്നേ സൂക്ഷ്മമായി നോക്കുക. രാജാവേ, നീ പരാധീനമനസ്സോടെ ദുര്യോധനന്റെ അധീനതയിൽ നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു.
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.