Shloka 16
भीष्मरक्षण-प्रकरणम् / The Protective Screen around Bhīṣma and the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Clash
उक्तोडसि बहुशो राजन् नारदाद्यर्महर्षिभि: । त्वं तु मोहान्न जानीषे वाच्यावाच्यं सुयोधन
ukto ’si bahuśo rājan nāradādyair maharṣibhiḥ | tvaṃ tu mohān na jānīṣe vācyāvācyaṃ suyodhana ||
Disse Sañjaya: “Ó rei, os grandes sábios—Nārada e outros—já te disseram isto muitas vezes. Contudo, tomado pela ilusão, ó Suyodhana, não discernes o que deve ser dito e o que não deve ser dito.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Repeated wise counsel is useless if one is overcome by moha (delusion). Ethical discernment includes knowing what is fit to say (vācya) and what is unfit to say (avācya), especially for a ruler whose words shape action and conflict.
Sañjaya rebukes Suyodhana (Duryodhana), reminding him that sages like Nārada have warned him many times. Despite these admonitions, Duryodhana remains deluded and fails to distinguish proper from improper speech—signaling his moral obstinacy in the lead-up to war.