Shloka 16

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट्रं पुरस्कृत्य गान्धारी च पतिव्रताम्‌ । सह तैर््रषिशभि: सर्वैर्गभ्रातृभि: केशवेन च

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ puraskṛtya gāndhārīṃ ca pativratām | saha tair ṛṣibhiḥ sarvair bhrātṛbhiḥ keśavena ca, rājan, kuruśreṣṭho yudhiṣṭhiraḥ dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ rājānaṃ pativratāṃ gāndhārīṃ ca puraskṛtya samastair ṛṣibhiḥ bhrātṛbhiḥ śrīkṛṣṇena nagara-janapadaiḥ vṛddha-mantribhiś ca saha hastināpuraṃ praviśat ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „O König, Yudhiṣṭhira, der Vornehmste der Kurus, ließ König Dhṛtarāṣṭra vorangehen und ebenso die ihrem Gatten treue Gāndhārī; und so zog er in Hāstināpura ein, zusammen mit all jenen Weisen, seinen Brüdern, Keśava (Kṛṣṇa), den Menschen aus Stadt und Land sowie den älteren Ministern.“

Word by Word

• धृतराष्ट्रम्: Dhṛtarāṣṭra (as the one placed in front)
• धृतराष्ट्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृतराष्ट्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• पुरस्कृत्य: having placed in front / having honored
• Type: Verb
• Root: पुरस् + कृ
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), Non-finite (prior action)

• गान्धारी: Gāndhārī
• गान्धारी: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गान्धारी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

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

• पतिव्रताम्: devoted to her husband (chaste)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पतिव्रता
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• सह: together with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह

• तैः: with them
• तैः: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• ऋषिशभिः: with the bull-like sages / best of sages
• ऋषिशभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषिशभ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• सर्वैः: with all
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• भ्रातृभिः: with (his) brothers
• भ्रातृभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रातृ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• केशवेन: with Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)
• केशवेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

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

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Gāndhārī
• Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)
• Ṛṣis (sages)
• Brothers (Pāṇḍavas collectively)
• Hastināpura
• Nagara (city populace)
• Janapada (countryside/realm populace)
• Elder ministers

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic governance through humility and reverence: Yudhiṣṭhira restores the kingdom not by triumphalism but by honoring the elder king Dhṛtarāṣṭra and the devoted Gāndhārī, and by moving with sages, ministers, and the public—signaling ethical legitimacy, social inclusion, and restraint after conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira enters Hastināpura in a formal procession. He places Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Gāndhārī at the forefront and is accompanied by sages, his brothers, Kṛṣṇa, the people of the city and countryside, and senior ministers—marking a public, orderly transition and consolidation of rule.