SB 10.48.34 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.48.34

तेषु राजाम्बिकापुत्रो भ्रातृपुत्रेषु दीनधी: । समो न वर्तते नूनं दुष्पुत्रवशगोऽन्धद‍ृक् ॥ ३४ ॥

teṣu rājāmbikā-putro

[teshu raajaambikaa-putro]

bhrātṛ-putreṣu dīna-dhīḥ

[bhraatri-putreshu deena-dheeh]

samo na vartate nūnaṁ

[samo na vartate noonam]

duṣputra-vaśa-go ’ndha-dṛk

[dushputra-vasha-go ’ndha-drik]

Word-for-word

teṣu — toward them rājā — the King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) ambikā — of Ambikā putraḥ — the son bhrātṛ — of his brother putreṣu — toward the sons dīna - dhīḥ — whose mind is wretched samaḥ — equally disposed na vartate — is not nūnam — surely duḥ — wicked putra — of his sons vaśa - gaḥ — under the control andha — blinded dṛk — whose vision .

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

teṣu rājāmbikā-putro

teṣu

toward them

rājā

the King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

ambikā

of Ambikā

putraḥ

the son

bhrātṛ-putreṣu dīna-dhīḥ

bhrātṛ

of his brother

putreṣu

toward the sons

dīna - dhīḥ

whose mind is wretched

samo na vartate nūnaṁ

samaḥ

equally disposed

na vartate

is not

nūnam

surely

duṣputra-vaśa-go ’ndha-dṛk

duḥ

wicked

putra

of his sons

vaśa - gaḥ

under the control

andha

blinded

dṛk

whose vision .

Important Words

andha-dṛk — whose vision is blind
Compound: andha (blind) + dṛś (sight). A double charge — Dhṛtarāṣṭra is literally blind, but the compound also names his moral vision. The Bhāgavatam stacks the two senses; the inner blindness is the dangerous one.
duḥ-putra-vaśa-gaḥ — fallen under the control of his wicked sons
Compound: duḥ (bad) + putra (son) + vaśa (control, sway) + ga (gone to). The king's authority has been hostaged by Duryodhana and his brothers. Vaśa-ga is the precise word for one who has surrendered his own will.
dīna-dhīḥ — whose mind is wretched, weak-minded
Compound: dīna (wretched, depleted) + dhī (intellect). The king is weak in the place where a king most needs to be strong. Gauḍīyas note that dīna usually praises the devotee's humility; here it indicts the unfit ruler.
ambikā-putraḥ — the son of Ambikā
Compound: ambikā (the queen Ambikā) + putra (son). The Bhāgavatam names him by his mother rather than by title — perhaps a soft note that his rule is not by inherent kingliness but by accident of birth. He sits where Pāṇḍu should have sat.

Indeed, weak-minded Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the son of Ambikā, has come under the control of his wicked sons, and therefore that blind King is not treating his brother’s sons fairly.

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

Indeed, weak-minded Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the son of Ambikā, has come under the control of his wicked sons, and therefore that blind King is not treating his brother's sons fairly.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Nūnam (perhaps this is so) indicates conjecture. Why does he treat the Pāṇḍavas unequally? Dhṛtarāṣṭra was the son of Ambikā, and Pāṇḍu was the son of a different mother. Another reason was he was under the control of his wicked sons. Why was this? He had no intelligence (dīna-dhīḥ). Mention that he was blind indicates many other faults which could be found by reading his palms.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya

Commentary

Because he was a half-brother (ambikā-putraḥ) he mistreated his brother’s sons. Nunam indicates conjecture. He didi not treat the brother’s sons fairly. He treated them wrongly. Or he did not treat them like he treaeds his own sons since his intelligence was little or he was wicked minded (andha-dhīḥ), since he was controlled by his evil son. He was blind from birth. This indicates he was unqualified to be a king.

Related values & verses

Related values

Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)

Concepts

Jiva

Personal Guidance

Weak-minded Dhṛtarāṣṭra, son of Ambikā, has come under his wicked sons' control, so the blind King isn't treating his nephews fairly. Family dynamics are honestly named; mercy doesn't blur clarity about who is failing whom.

Reflection Questions

Where could your love for someone include clear naming of their failure of duty?
How do you remain merciful while honest?

Analogy

A blind king with cruel sons is the worst kind of guardian for orphaned nephews. The eye that cannot see has surrendered judgment to the louder voice in the room — and Duryodhana is always the louder voice. Kṛṣṇa names the problem in one verse and dispatches Akrūra to confirm what He already knows.

Stories

The Lākṣāgṛha plot

Years after this chapter, Duryodhana would convince Dhṛtarāṣṭra to send the Pāṇḍavas to Vāraṇāvata, where Purocana had built a house of lac designed to burn them alive (Mahābhārata, Ādi-parva). The blind king's failure of equal treatment, which Kṛṣṇa names here in 10.48.34, will mature into attempted fratricide.

Gauḍīyas read Kṛṣṇa's early diagnosis — andha-dṛk, blind of vision; duḥ-putra-vaśa-gaḥ, controlled by wicked sons — as the perfect prognosis. The Bhāgavatam shows Bhagavān's view of the political situation decades before it climaxes at Kurukṣetra.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io