Shloka 6

Saṃjaya’s Warning to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: Accountability, Alliance-Shift, and the Pāṇḍava Strategic Edge

Devanagari script

परुषाण्युच्यमानांश्व पुरा पार्थनुपेक्षसे । कृत्स्नं राज्यं जयन्तीति प्रपातं नानुपश्यसि

Transliteration

paruṣāṇy ucyamānāṃś ca purā pārthān upekṣase | kṛtsnaṃ rājyaṃ jayantīti prapātaṃ nānupaśyasi ||

Translation

Sañjaya disse: “Mesmo antes, quando muitas palavras duras eram ditas contra os filhos de Pṛthā, continuaste a desprezá-los, pensando: ‘Meus filhos estão conquistando todo o reino.’ Não percebeste que essa própria atitude os conduzia ao precipício — à sua futura ruína e queda.”

Word by Word

• {'paruṣāṇi': 'harsh, cruel (words/utterances)', 'ucyamānān': 'being spoken, being uttered', 'ca': 'and', 'purā': 'formerly, earlier', 'pārthān': 'the sons of Pṛthā

• the Pāṇḍavas', 'upekṣase': 'you disregard, overlook, treat with indifference', 'kṛtsnam': 'entire, whole', 'rājyam': 'kingdom, sovereignty', 'jayanti': 'they conquer, they win', 'iti': 'thus, thinking/quoting', 'prapātam': 'a precipice

• downfall, ruin', 'na anupaśyasi (nānupaśyasi)': 'you do not foresee, you do not perceive'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Pāṇḍavas (Pārthas)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied addressee)
• Kauravas (implied as 'my sons')

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Indifference to injustice—especially when fueled by pride in one’s side ‘winning’—creates moral blindness. Such blindness prevents one from seeing the approaching ‘prapāta’ (downfall) that arises from adharma and arrogance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra, recalling how he ignored the insults and harsh treatment directed at the Pāṇḍavas because he was pleased that his own sons were gaining power. Sanjaya warns that this complacency and partiality is itself a cause of the Kauravas’ impending ruin.