Shloka 6
“जब राजा दुर्योधनने तुम्हारी ही सलाह लेकर भीमसेनको जहर मिलाया हुआ अन्न खिलाया और उन्हें सर्पोंसे डँसवाया, उस समय तुम्हारा धर्म कहाँ गया था? ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
yadā rājā duryodhanas tavaiva mantrām ādāya bhīmasenāya viṣadattaṃ bhaktaṃ prāśayām āsa, sarpaiś ca daṃśayām āsa, tadā te dharmaḥ kva gataḥ? |
yad vāraṇāvate pārthān suptān jātugṛhe tadā ādīpayas tvaṃ rādheya, kva te dharmas tadā gataḥ? ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Ketika Raja Duryodhana, menurut nasihatmu sendiri, menyuapkan Bhīmasena makanan bercampur racun dan membuatnya dipatuk ular—ke manakah dharma-mu ketika itu? Dan ketika di Vāraṇāvata engkau berusaha membakar para Pārtha yang sedang tidur di dalam rumah lak—wahai putera Rādhā—di manakah dharma-mu pada saat itu?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presses moral accountability: one cannot claim dharma in the present while having earlier endorsed or enabled adharma—especially covert violence like poisoning and arson. Counsel given to a king carries ethical responsibility for the outcomes.
Sañjaya recalls two earlier crimes attributed to Duryodhana and linked to Karṇa’s counsel: (1) feeding Bhīma poisoned food and arranging serpent-bites, and (2) attempting to burn the sleeping Pāṇḍavas in the lac-house at Vāraṇāvata. He challenges Karṇa: where was your dharma then?