Shloka 5
गर्दभे मार्दवं कुर्याद् गोषु तीक्ष्णं समाचरेत् । मृदु दुर्योधने वाक्य यो ब्रूयात् पापचेतसि,जो पापात्मा दुर्योधनके प्रति मृदु वचन बोलेगा, वह मानो गदहेके प्रति कोमलतापूर्ण व्यवहार करेगा और गायोंके प्रति कठोर बर्ताव
gardabhe mārdavaṁ kuryād goṣu tīkṣṇaṁ samācaret | mṛdu duryodhane vākyaṁ yo brūyāt pāpacetasi ||
Drupada nói: “Nói lời mềm mỏng với Duryodhana, kẻ lòng dạ tội lỗi, chẳng khác nào vuốt ve con lừa mà lại đối xử hà khắc với đàn bò.”
दुपद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches discernment in ethical conduct: gentleness and conciliatory speech are virtues, but offering them indiscriminately to a person fixed in wrongdoing is misplaced. True dharma requires judging character and intention, directing kindness where it protects the worthy and firmness where it restrains harm.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Drupada comments on the futility of speaking mildly to Duryodhana, portraying him as pāpacetas (sinful-minded). By a proverb-like comparison—tenderness to a donkey and harshness to cows—he argues that conciliatory words toward Duryodhana are inappropriate and ineffective.