Shloka 9
Āśā-prabhava (आशाप्रभव) — On the Rise and Power of Hope/Expectation
Sumitra Itihāsa Begins
त्वया च महदैद्वर्य प्राप्त परपुरज्जय । किंकरा भ्रातर: सर्वे मित्रसम्बन्धिन: सदा
tvayā ca mahad aiśvaryaṁ prāptaṁ parapurañjaya | kiṅkarā bhrātaraḥ sarve mitrasambandhinaḥ sadā ||
আর হে শত্রুনগরজয়ী! তোমার দ্বারাই তো মহৎ ঐশ্বর্য অর্জিত হয়েছে। তোমার সকল ভাই, বন্ধু ও আত্মীয়-স্বজন সর্বদা তোমার অধীন, যেন তোমারই সেবক।
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how political power (aiśvarya) reshapes social relations: brothers, friends, and kin can become dependents. Ethically, it invites reflection on the responsibilities of sovereignty and the danger of reducing close relations to mere instruments of one’s power.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses a powerful figure as “conqueror of enemy cities,” noting that great sovereignty has been achieved through him, and that the speaker’s wider circle—brothers, friends, and relatives—now stand in a subordinate, attendant-like position.