Shloka 156

Devanagari script

पाण्डवेषु कथं हार्द कुर्यान्न च पितामह: । “आचार्य द्रोण तो सदा हमारे हितकी इच्छा रखनेवाले हैं। वे अपने शिष्योंके साथ कभी युद्ध नहीं कर सकते। इसी प्रकार पितामह भीष्म भी पाण्डवोंके प्रति हार्दिक स्नेह कैसे नहीं रखेंगे?

Transliteration

pāṇḍaveṣu kathaṃ hārdaṃ kuryān na ca pitāmahaḥ |

Translation

Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Paano magagawa ng pitatāmaha na hindi makadama ng taos-pusong paglingap sa mga Pāṇḍava? Dahil sa ugnayang-dugo at tungkuling mag-alaga at magtanggol, salungat sa kanyang likas na pagkatao at sa kanyang dharma ang maging walang lambing sa kanila.”

Word by Word

पाण्डवेषुamong/with regard to the Pāṇḍavas

कथम्how

हार्दम्affection, heartfelt love

कुर्यात्would/should do; would show (affection)

नnot

चand

पितामहःthe grandsire (Bhīṣma)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Pāṇḍavas

Pitāmaha (Bhīṣma)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid impending war, dharma is shaped by enduring relationships: elders and guardians are expected to retain compassion and goodwill toward those they have protected, and the absence of such feeling is portrayed as unnatural and ethically suspect.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Vaiśaṃpāyana highlights the moral tension for the Kuru elders: Bhīṣma, though aligned with the Kaurava side by obligation, is still bound by deep familial affection toward the Pāṇḍavas.