Shloka 52
Kṛṣṇa at Duryodhana’s House: Refusal of Hospitality and Departure to Vidura (कृष्णस्य धार्तराष्ट्रनिवेशनगमनम्)
तत्रैव धृतराष्ट्रश्न महाराजश्न बाह्विक:ः । कृपश्न सोमदत्तश्न निर्विण्णा: कुरवस्तथा
tatraiva dhṛtarāṣṭraś ca mahārājaś ca bāhlīkaḥ | kṛpaś ca somadattaś ca nirviṇṇāḥ kuravas tathā ||
Di situ juga, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, raja agung Bāhlīka, Kṛpa, dan Somadatta—bahkan kaum Kuru juga—menjadi tawar hati dan letih jiwa. Naratif ini menampakkan suasana moral yang lesu dan runtuh dari dalam, ketika para tua-tua dan pemimpin merasakan beratnya pertikaian yang bakal meletus serta akibat pilihan yang telah menegangkan dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When leaders and elders ignore timely counsel and allow adharma to grow, the result is collective moral fatigue—an inner recognition of looming consequences. The verse highlights how ethical failure in governance manifests as despair and loss of resolve even among the most senior figures.
Vaiśampāyana reports that, at that moment and in that place, key Kuru elders—Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Bāhlīka, Kṛpa, and Somadatta—along with the Kurus generally, become dispirited. It signals a turning point of emotional and political heaviness as the crisis intensifies.