Shloka 20

Arjuna Restores a Brāhmaṇa’s Cattle and Accepts Forest Exile

Satya-vrata at Khaṇḍavaprastha

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट्रश्न पाउ्चाल्य त्वया सम्बन्धमीयिवान्‌ । कृतार्थ मन्यते55त्मानं तथा सर्वेडपि कौरवा:,पांचालनरेश! राजा धृतराष्ट्र आपके सम्बन्धी होकर अपने-आपको कृतार्थ मानते हैं। यही दशा समस्त कौरवोंकी है

Transliteration

Dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ pāñcālya tvayā sambandham īyivān | kṛtārthaṃ manyate ātmānaṃ tathā sarve ’pi kauravāḥ ||

Translation

Vidura sprach: „O König der Pāñcālas, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, da er mit dir in Verwandtschaft getreten ist, hält sich für erfüllt und am Ziel. Ebenso meinen auch alle Kauravas, durch dieses Bündnis ihren Zweck erreicht zu haben.“

Word by Word

धृतराष्ट्रःDhritarashtra

पाञ्चाल्यO Panchalya (king of Panchala)

त्वयाby you / with you

सम्बन्धम्relationship, connection

ईयिवान्has gone/attained (i.e., has entered into)

कृतार्थम्fulfilled, having achieved the purpose

मन्यतेthinks/considers

आत्मानम्himself

तथाso, likewise

सर्वेall

अपिalso, even

कौरवाःthe Kauravas

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Pāñcāla (king of the Pāñcālas)

Kauravas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how royal houses measure success through strategic kinship and alliances; Vidura’s framing implicitly invites ethical scrutiny—whether political “fulfillment” grounded in alliance serves dharma or merely ambition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vidura addresses the Pāñcāla king and notes that Dhṛtarāṣṭra and the Kauravas feel gratified because they have secured a familial connection with the Pāñcālas, treating the relationship as a major political gain.