Shloka 9
अद्य राजा धृतराष्ट्र: स्वां बुद्धिमवमंस्यते । दुर्योधनमराज्याहँ यया राज्ये5भ्यषेचयत्
adyā rājā dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ svāṃ buddhim avamaṃsyate | duryodhanam arājyārhaṃ yayā rājye 'bhyasecayat ||
सञ्जय उवाच—अद्य राजा धृतराष्ट्रः स्वां बुद्धिमवमंस्यते; यया दुर्योधनमराज्याहं राज्येऽभ्यषेचयत्।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s (or elder’s) flawed judgment—especially when it legitimizes an unworthy claimant—creates far-reaching harm; when consequences mature, the same decision becomes a source of remorse. The verse highlights accountability in governance and the ethical weight of endorsing adharma.
Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield events and their implications, predicts Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s inner reversal: he will condemn the very policy by which he installed Duryodhana in power, recognizing that Duryodhana was not fit to rule and that this choice helped precipitate the catastrophe of war.