Shloka 11

आदि पर्व — अध्याय ५५: पाण्डव-कौरववैरस्य संक्षेपवृत्तान्तः

Synopsis of the Pāṇḍava–Kaurava Estrangement

Devanagari script

नेह त्वदन्यो विद्यते जीवलोके समो नृपः पालयिता प्रजानाम्‌ । धृत्या च ते प्रीतमना: सदाहं त्वं वा वरुणो धर्मराजो यमो वा,इस मृत्युलोकमें तुम्हारे सिवा दूसरा कोई ऐसा राजा नहीं है, जो तुम्हारी भाँति प्रजाका पालन कर सके। तुम्हारे धैर्यसे मेरा मन सदा प्रसन्न रहता है। तुम साक्षात्‌ वरुण, धर्मराज एवं यमके समान प्रभावशाली हो

Transliteration

neha tvadanyo vidyate jīvaloke samo nṛpaḥ pālayitā prajānām | dhṛtyā ca te prītamanāḥ sadāhaṃ tvaṃ vā varuṇo dharmarājo yamo vā ||

Translation

Āstīka preist den König und erklärt, dass es in dieser Welt der Lebenden keinen anderen Herrscher gebe, der ihm im Schutz und Erhalt des Volkes gleichkomme. Die standhafte Selbstbeherrschung und Geduld des Königs erfreuen Āstīkas Herz unablässig. Er sagt, der König trage eine Autorität wie Varuṇa, Dharma-rāja oder Yama—Gestalten, die kosmische Ordnung, Gerechtigkeit und Zügelung verkörpern—und stelle so Königtum als moralische Hüterschaft dar, nicht als bloße Macht.

Word by Word

{'neha''not here

in this world', 'tvad-anyaḥ''other than you', 'vidyate': 'is found

exists', 'jīva-loke''in the world of living beings

mortal world', 'samaḥ''equal

comparable', 'nṛpaḥ''king

ruler', 'pālayitā''protector

one who governs and maintains', 'prajānām''of the subjects

of the people', 'dhṛtyā''by firmness

by patience/steadfastness', 'te''your

of you', 'prīta-manāḥ''with pleased mind

delighted at heart', 'sadā''always', 'aham': 'I', 'tvaṃ': 'you', 'vā': 'or', 'varuṇaḥ': 'Varuṇa (deity associated with ṛta/order and moral oversight)', 'dharmarājaḥ': 'Dharma-rāja (king of righteousness

often Yama as judge of dharma)', 'yamaḥ''Yama (lord of death

Speaker

आस्तीक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Āstīka

nṛpa (the king)

Varuṇa

Dharmarāja

Yama

jīvaloka (mortal world)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents ideal kingship (rājadharma) as protective governance grounded in steadiness and moral restraint. A ruler’s legitimacy is measured by safeguarding subjects and upholding order, akin to cosmic judges like Varuṇa and Yama.

What is happening in the narrative?

Āstīka addresses the king with respectful praise, emphasizing the king’s unmatched capacity to protect the people and likening his authority to divine upholders of justice and order—language suited to persuading a powerful ruler toward dharmic action.