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 |
智王如实判定强弱之后——当他已从功过之衡中断定何方更占上风——便又一次开始计量俱卢与般度两军之势力。
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.