Dhritarashtra Advises Duryodhana to Abandon Hatred
Dhritarashtra sees the hatred and covetousness consuming his son Duryodhana. He delivers a long, weary speech urging him to abandon this destructive path, be content with his own kingdom, and find peace in his own prosperity.
Dhritarashtra addressed his son. He could sense the hatred, the covetousness, the restless agitation. He spoke to the eldest of his sons, the son of his eldest wife, with the weight of a father who knows a storm is coming and hopes, against all evidence, to turn it aside.
“Do not bear hatred towards the Pandavas,” he said. “He who bears hatred is always as unhappy as in death.” He tried reason. Yudhishthira was inexperienced, he argued. He was Duryodhana’s equal in goals and friends. He did not hate. So why did Duryodhana hate him? They were equals in birth and valour. Why covet a brother’s riches? “Do not desire out of delusion. Be calm and virtuous.”
He offered an alternative path for glory. If Duryodhana wished to accomplish the glory of a sacrifice, let the priests arrange the great saptatantu sacrifice. Kings would bring him riches, gems, and ornaments out of affection and respect. He would earn his own wealth, not crave another’s.
Then came the core of his warning, drawn from a lifetime of observing the mechanics of misery. “The terrible act of desiring another’s property brings misery. He who is satisfied with his own, remains anchored in his own dharma and is happy.” He listed the true signs of wealth: lack of concern for another’s prosperity, constant perseverance in one’s own tasks, the protection of what one has obtained. A man who is unmoved in calamities, always skilled and engaged in his own duties, vigilant and humble — such a man will always witness good fortune.
His final advice was almost plaintive, a recipe for a quiet life he knew his son would scorn. “O bull among the Bharata lineage! Give at sacrifices, enjoy the pleasures you desire, sport in the company of women and be at peace.”