Shloka 4
Droṇa’s Ācārya-Dakṣiṇā: Capture of Drupada and Division of Pāñcāla (द्रोण-आचार्यदक्षिणा)
सततं स्मानुशोचन्तस्तमेव भरतर्षभम् | पौरजानपदा: सर्वे मृतं स््वमिव बान्धवम्,नगर और जनपदके सभी लोग मानो कोई अपना ही भाई-बन्धु मर गया हो, इस प्रकार उन भरतकुलतिलक पाण्डुके लिये निरन्तर शोकमग्न हो गये
satataṁ smānuśocantas tam eva bharatarṣabham | paurajānapadāḥ sarve mṛtaṁ svam iva bāndhavam ||
Alle Stadtbewohner und Landbewohner trauerten unablässig und beweinten Pāṇḍu—jenen Stier unter den Bhāratas—als wäre ein eigener Verwandter gestorben.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A righteous and beloved ruler is not merely a political figure; he becomes ‘one of one’s own.’ The collective mourning suggests an ethical model of kingship where the bond between ruler and subjects is familial in care and responsibility, so the ruler’s loss is felt as a personal bereavement across the realm.
Vaiśampāyana describes the reaction to Pāṇḍu’s death: both city-dwellers and rural subjects remain in continuous grief, lamenting him as though a close relative had died.