Shloka 52
Kṛṣṇa at Duryodhana’s House: Refusal of Hospitality and Departure to Vidura (कृष्णस्य धार्तराष्ट्रनिवेशनगमनम्)
तत्रैव धृतराष्ट्रश्न महाराजश्न बाह्विक:ः । कृपश्न सोमदत्तश्न निर्विण्णा: कुरवस्तथा
tatraiva dhṛtarāṣṭraś ca mahārājaś ca bāhlīkaḥ | kṛpaś ca somadattaś ca nirviṇṇāḥ kuravas tathā ||
Doon din, si Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ang dakilang haring si Bāhlīka, si Kṛpa, at si Somadatta—maging ang mga Kuru rin—ay nanghina ang loob at napagod sa diwa. Ipinahihiwatig ng salaysay ang isang kapaligirang moral na pagod at gumuho sa kalooban, habang nararamdaman ng mga nakatatanda at pinuno ang bigat ng nalalapit na tunggalian at ang bunga ng mga pasyang sumugat sa dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When leaders and elders ignore timely counsel and allow adharma to grow, the result is collective moral fatigue—an inner recognition of looming consequences. The verse highlights how ethical failure in governance manifests as despair and loss of resolve even among the most senior figures.
Vaiśampāyana reports that, at that moment and in that place, key Kuru elders—Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Bāhlīka, Kṛpa, and Somadatta—along with the Kurus generally, become dispirited. It signals a turning point of emotional and political heaviness as the crisis intensifies.