Mahabharata 11.13.8 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 8
Gāndhārī’s Grief, Vyāsa’s Pacification, and the Ethics of Retaliation (गान्धारी-शोकः शमोपदेशश्च)
ततोअन्यवृत्तमात्मानं समवेक्षस्व भारत । राजंस्त्वं हविधेयात्मा दुर्योधनवशे स्थित:
tato 'nyavṛttam ātmānaṁ samavekṣasva bhārata | rājan tvaṁ ha vidheyātmā duryodhanavaśe sthitaḥ ||
Тогда, о Бхарата, всмотрись пристально в собственный, изменившийся путь поведения. О царь, ты стал тем, чья воля управляется другим, стоящим под властью Дурьодханы,—нравственное предостережение: утрата самовладания и рассудительности уводит правителя от дхармы и ведёт к гибельным решениям.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must retain self-governance and moral discernment; surrendering one’s will to a partial, unrighteous influence (here, Duryodhana) is portrayed as a decisive ethical failure that distorts conduct and leads to destructive outcomes.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating events, points to the king’s changed behavior and urges him to examine himself, emphasizing that he has been acting under Duryodhana’s dominance—framing the catastrophe as rooted in compromised judgment and misplaced compliance.
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