Shloka 38

धृतराष्ट्र-सत्कारः तथा श्राद्ध-दाने नियमनम् | Honoring Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Regulating Śrāddha-Gifts

Devanagari script

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

Transliteration

viparītakṛc ca me śatrur niyamyaś ca bhaven naraḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Wer meinem Befehl zuwiderhandelt, ist mein Feind; wer sich aber zügelt und in Disziplin lebt, der soll als treu gelten.“ In diesem Zusammenhang sagte Yudhiṣṭhira—berühmt für Mitgefühl und Standhaftigkeit—seinen Brüdern und Ministern immer wieder, König Dhṛtarāṣṭra sei der Ehre würdig; wer Dhṛtarāṣṭras Weisungen gehorche, gelte als Wohlgesinnter Yudhiṣṭhiras, wer aber das Gegenteil tue, werde als Feind behandelt und bestraft.

Word by Word

• {'viparīta': 'contrary, opposite, acting against (instruction or propriety)', 'kṛt (kṛc)': 'doing, acting (one who does/behaves)', 'me': 'my', 'śatruḥ': 'enemy', 'niyamya': 'having restrained/controlled oneself

• under discipline', 'bhavet': 'would be, becomes', 'naraḥ': 'man, person', 'ājñā (contextual)': 'command, order', 'daṇḍa (contextual)': 'punishment, royal chastisement', 'suhṛd (contextual)': 'well-wisher, friend'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Loyalty is defined by disciplined obedience to rightful authority and ethical restraint; deliberate contrariness is treated as enmity and invites punishment. The verse frames governance as moral order: self-control and compliance sustain harmony, while defiance disrupts dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports Yudhiṣṭhira’s standing instruction to his brothers and ministers during the Āśramavāsika phase: Dhṛtarāṣṭra is to be honored, and those who follow his directives are counted as Yudhiṣṭhira’s allies; those who act in opposition are considered enemies and subject to royal discipline.