Shloka 17
यह सुनकर सब सभासदोंने सभामें अपने हाथ ऊपर उठाकर अत्यन्त उद्विग्नचित्त हो बड़ी घबराहटके साथ कहा ।। सभ्या ऊचु: अहो धिग बान्धवा नैनं बोधयन्ति महद् भयम् । बुद्धया बुध्येन्न वा बुध्येदयं वै भरतर्षभ:,सभासद् बोले--अहो धिक््कार है! ये भाई-बन्धु भी युधिष्ठिरको उनके ऊपर आनेवाले महान् भयकी बात नहीं समझाते। पता नहीं, ये भरतश्रेष्ठ युधिष्ठिर अपनी बुद्धिके द्वारा इस भयको समझें या न समझें
sabhya ūcuḥ | aho dhig bāndhavā nainaṃ bodhayanti mahad bhayam | buddhyā budhyenna vā budhyed ayaṃ vai bharatarṣabhaḥ ||
Para hadirin berseru: “Aduhai, sungguh memalukan! Bahkan kaum kerabatnya sendiri tidak menasihati Yudhiṣṭhira tentang bahaya besar yang bakal menimpanya. Entah sang ‘lembu jantan’ di antara keturunan Bharata ini akan memahami ancaman itu dengan budinya—atau tidak memahaminya.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical duty of close relations and advisers to warn a righteous leader when he is being led toward ruin. Silence or complicity in the face of foreseeable harm is portrayed as blameworthy, and true counsel requires moral courage.
In the royal assembly during the unfolding crisis of the dice-game episode, the courtiers react with alarm and condemnation. They lament that Yudhiṣṭhira’s own kinsmen are not cautioning him about the grave danger ahead, and they doubt whether he will recognize it in time by his own judgment.