Shloka 17
अध्याय २९ — वासुदेव–संजय संवादः
Karma, Varṇa-Dharma, and the Ethics of Governance
ज्येष्ठ: पुत्रो धृतराष्ट्रस्य मन्दो मूर्ख: शठ: संजय पापशील: । यस्यापवाद: पृथिवीं याति सर्वा सुयोधनं कुशलं तात पृच्छे:
jyeṣṭhaḥ putro dhṛtarāṣṭrasya mando mūrkhaḥ śaṭhaḥ sañjaya pāpaśīlaḥ | yasyāpavādaḥ pṛthivīṃ yāti sarvā suyodhanaṃ kuśalaṃ tāta pṛccheḥ ||
तात संजय! धृतराष्ट्राचा ज्येष्ठ पुत्र जो मंदबुद्धी, मूर्ख, शठ आणि पापशील आहे, ज्याची निंदा सर्व पृथ्वीवर पसरली आहे—त्या सुयोधनालाही माझ्याकडून कुशल-मंगल विचार.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even while condemning wrongdoing and recognizing a person’s harmful character, one can maintain civility and dharmic restraint. Yudhiṣṭhira’s welfare-inquiry underscores ethical self-control and diplomatic propriety amid escalating hostility.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Sañjaya (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s envoy). He sharply characterizes Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s eldest son Suyodhana as infamous and immoral, yet instructs Sañjaya to convey a formal inquiry about Suyodhana’s well-being.