Shloka 2

Ādi-parva Adhyāya 141: Bhīma–Hiḍimba Confrontation and Protective Discourse

Devanagari script

ते कौरव्यमनुज्ञाप्य धृतराष्ट्रं नराधिपम्‌ । दहने तु सपुत्राया: कुन्त्या बुद्धिमकारयन्‌,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! तदनन्तर सुबलपुत्र शकुनि, राजा दुर्योधन दुःशासन और कर्णने (आपसमें) एक दुष्टतापूर्ण गुप्त सलाह की। उन्होंने कुरुनन्दन महाराज धुृतराष्ट्रसे आज्ञा लेकर पुत्रोंसहित कुन्तीकों आगमें जला डालनेका विचार किया

Transliteration

te kauravyam anu jñāpya dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ narādhipam | dahane tu sa-putrāyāḥ kuntyā buddhiṃ akārayann | vaiśampāyana uvāca |

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：既已得到人主持国（德里达罗湿多罗）的允诺，那些俱卢人便定下计谋——要使昆蒂与其诸子葬身火中。此偈凸显他们有意堕入阿达摩：政治上的许可虽被求得，所图之事却因嫉妒与对正统权利的恐惧而极其败德。

Word by Word

तेthey

कौरव्यम्the Kaurava (king) (i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

अनुज्ञाप्यhaving obtained permission (from)

धृतराष्ट्रम्Dhṛtarāṣṭra

नराधिपम्the lord of men, king

दहनेin/for burning; in the fire (act of burning)

तुbut/indeed

सपुत्रायाःof (her) who has sons; together with her sons

कुन्त्याःof Kuntī

बुद्धिम्plan, intention

अकारयन्they caused (to be made), they devised

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Janamejaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Kuntī

Kuntī's sons (Pāṇḍavas, implied)

Kauravas (as a party, implied)

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?

The verse highlights how adharma can be pursued under the cover of political legitimacy: obtaining a king’s assent does not make an act righteous. It warns that intention (buddhi) rooted in envy and fear leads to grievous wrongdoing, even when framed as statecraft.

What is happening in the narrative?

The Kaurava faction, after securing Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s approval, forms a plan to destroy Kuntī along with her sons by burning them—foreshadowing the infamous attempt to kill the Pāṇḍavas through fire (the broader episode of the lac house plot).