Shloka 3
धृतराष्ट्रस्य बलाबलचिन्ता
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Strength and Preference for Śama
बलाबल विनिश्ित्य याथातथ्येन बुद्धिमान् (यदा तु मेने भूयिष्ठं तद्भबाद्यो गुणदोषत: । पुनरेव कुरूणां च पाण्डवानां च बुद्धिमान् ।। ) शक्ति संख्यातुमारेभे तदा वै मनुजाधिप:
balābala-viniścitya yāthātathyena buddhimān (yadā tu mene bhūyiṣṭhaṃ tad bhavādyo guṇa-doṣataḥ | punar eva kurūṇāṃ ca pāṇḍavānāṃ ca buddhimān ||) śaktiṃ saṅkhyātum ārebhe tadā vai manujādhipaḥ |
قوت و کمزوری کو حقیقت کے مطابق طے کر کے وہ دانا فرمانروا—جب خوبیوں اور خامیوں کے اعتبار سے یہ سمجھ بیٹھا کہ کون سا فریق زیادہ برتر ہے—تو اس نے پھر سے کوروؤں اور پانڈوؤں دونوں کی طاقت کا حساب لگانا شروع کیا۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights prudent leadership: decisions should be grounded in factual assessment (yāthātathya) and ethical evaluation (guṇa-doṣa), not in impulse. Wisdom involves weighing both capability (śakti, bala) and moral qualities before acting.
The narrator describes a king (manujādhipa) who, after judging relative strengths and weaknesses and considering the merits and faults of the two sides, again undertakes a concrete reckoning of the military power of the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas.