Shloka 17
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
न च तानपि दवुष्टात्मा धार्तराष्ट्रोडनुमन्यते । स्वाम्यमात्मनि मत्वासावतो दुःखतरं नु किम्
na ca tān api duṣṭātmā dhārtarāṣṭro 'numanyate | svāmyam ātmani matvā sa ato duḥkhataraṃ nu kim ||
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Ngunit ang masamang-loob na anak ni Dhṛtarāṣṭra ay hindi pumapayag kahit doon. Inaangkin niyang siya ang panginoon ng lahat, kaya tumatanggi siyang ipagkaloob kahit ang limang nayon. Ano pang dalamhati ang hihigit dito?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns possessiveness and unjust claims to sovereignty: when a ruler treats all as his personal property and refuses even a minimal, fair settlement, it becomes a profound ethical failure that makes peace impossible and pushes society toward war.
During the peace efforts before the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira laments that Duryodhana will not agree even to the modest request of five villages for the Pāṇḍavas, insisting on absolute ownership; Yudhiṣṭhira frames this refusal as the greatest cause of grief and a sign that conflict is becoming inevitable.