Shloka 16

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization

Devanagari script

पज्च नस्तात दीयमन्तां ग्रामा वा नगराणि वा | वसेम सहिता येषु मा च नो भरता नशन्‌

Transliteration

pañca nas tāta dīyamantāṃ grāmā vā nagarāṇi vā | vase ma sahitā yeṣu mā ca no bharatā naśan, govinda |

Translation

قال يودهيشثيرا: «يا أبتِ، امنحنا خمسًا فقط—قرى كانت أم مدنًا—لنقيم نحن الإخوة الخمسة معًا في سلام. ولا تدع نسل بهاراتا يهلك بسببنا، يا غوفيندا.»

Word by Word

• पञ्च: five
• पञ्च: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च
• Form: —, Accusative, Plural

• नः: to us
• नः: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Dative, Plural

• तात: O father / dear sir
• Type: Noun
• Root: तात
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• दीयन्ताम्: let (them) be given
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (ददाति)
• Form: Imperative (Lot), 3rd, Plural, Passive (Karmani)

• ग्रामाः: villages
• ग्रामाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• नगराणि: towns/cities
• नगराणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नगर
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• वसेम: may we dwell
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (वसति)
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 1st, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सहिताः: together, united
• सहिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• येषु: in which
• येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: —, Locative, Plural

• मा: not (prohibitive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मा

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• नः: because of us / from us
• नः: Apadana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Ablative, Plural

• भरताः: the Bharatas (descendants of Bharata)
• भरताः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नश्यन्: perishing / being destroyed
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (नश्यति)
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• गोविन्द: O Govinda (Krishna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोविन्द
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Govinda (Kṛṣṇa)
• Bharatas (Kuru lineage)
• the five Pāṇḍava brothers

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights restraint and dharmic conflict-avoidance: Yudhiṣṭhira asks for the bare minimum—five settlements—so that the brothers can live without triggering a catastrophic civil war. Ethical leadership is shown as prioritizing the welfare of the whole lineage over maximal personal gain.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, Yudhiṣṭhira recalls/voices a conciliatory proposal to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: give the Pāṇḍavas only five villages or towns. Addressing Kṛṣṇa as Govinda, he frames the request as a means to prevent the destruction of the Bharata (Kuru) family through internecine war.