Shloka 15
याज्ञसेनी-प्रश्नः
Draupadī’s Question in the Assembly
मोहात्मा तप्स्यसे पश्चात् पत्रिहा पुरुषो यथा । (एतेन तव नाश: स्याद् बडिशाच्छफरो यथा ।) जातं॑ जात॑ पाण्डवेभ्य: पुष्पमादत्स्व भारत
mohātmā tapsyase paścāt pattrihā puruṣo yathā | (etena tava nāśaḥ syād baḍiśāc chapharo yathā |) jātaṃ jāta pāṇḍavebhyaḥ puṣpam ādatsva bhārata
毗度罗告诫道：“为迷妄所蔽，你终将追悔——如同杀鸟之人，事后方知悔恨。正因这条路，你必至毁灭，犹如鱼吞钩而被擒。故而，婆罗多啊，当取那由般度五子一再生出的‘花’——即从他们而来的最佳结局（善意、盟约与应得之分），莫择通向覆亡之途。”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches that decisions made under delusion and greed lead to inevitable ruin and later remorse. Wise kingship means accepting a just, auspicious course—here, making peace and granting the Pāṇḍavas their due—rather than pursuing harmful schemes that ‘hook’ one into destruction.
In the Sabha Parva, Vidura admonishes the Kuru ruler (addressed as ‘Bharata’) during the escalating conflict around the Pāṇḍavas’ treatment. He uses vivid similes—a repentant bird-killer and a fish caught by a hook—to warn that hostile actions against the Pāṇḍavas will rebound disastrously, urging acceptance of the best and rightful settlement connected with them.