Shloka 14
धृतराष्ट्र-सत्कारः तथा श्राद्ध-दाने नियमनम् | Honoring Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Regulating Śrāddha-Gifts
स राजा सुमहातेजा वृद्ध: कुरुकुलोद्वह:,विपरीतकश्न मे शत्रुर्नियम्यश्न भवेन्नर: । राजा युधिष्ठिर बड़े दयालु थे। वे सदा प्रसन्न रहकर अपने भाइयों और मन्त्रियोंसे कहा करते थे कि “ये राजा धृतराष्ट्र मेरे और आपलोगोंके माननीय हैं। जो इनकी आज्ञाके अधीन रहता है, वही मेरा सुहृद् है। विपरीत आचरण करनेवाला मेरा शत्रु है। वह मेरे दण्डका भागी होगा
sa rājā sumahātejā vṛddhaḥ kurukulodvahaḥ | viparītakaś ca me śatrur niyamyaś ca bhaven naraḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: That king, of very great splendor—an elder and a foremost bearer of the Kuru line—(declared): “Whoever acts contrary to this is my enemy; but the man who remains under discipline and obedience is to be regarded as mine.” In context, Yudhiṣṭhira frames loyalty not as personal favoritism but as ethical submission to rightful authority—honoring Dhṛtarāṣṭra as venerable and making obedience to his command the measure of friendship, while treating defiance as culpable and punishable.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ethical governance is grounded in honoring rightful, venerable authority and maintaining discipline: obedience to the king’s command is treated as a sign of friendship and social order, while deliberate contrariness is framed as enmity and deserving of correction.
Vaiśampāyana describes the king’s stance (contextually, Yudhiṣṭhira’s policy toward Dhṛtarāṣṭra): he publicly instructs that Dhṛtarāṣṭra is to be regarded as worthy of honor, and that those who comply with this authority are allies, whereas those who act oppositely are enemies liable to punishment.