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,“मैं देखता हूँ, आप, विदुरजी, पिताजी, आचार्य अथवा पितामह भीष्म सभी लोग केवल मुझपर ही दोषारोपण करते हैं; दूसरे किसी राजापर नहीं
bhavān kṣattā ca rājā vāpy ācāryo vā pitāmahaḥ | mām eva parigarhante nānyaṃ kaṃcana pārthivam ||
“मी पाहतो—तू, विदुर (क्षत्ता), राजा (माझे वडील), आचार्य आणि पितामह—सर्वजण फक्त माझ्यावरच दोष ठेवता; दुसऱ्या कोणत्याही राजावर नाही।”
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.