Shloka 543
Duryodhana’s Post-Duel Lament and Instructions (भग्नसक्थस्य विलापः)
भक्तिर्भरतशार्दूल स्नेहश्वापि स्वभावत: । “महाबाहो! भरतवंशके सिंह! आप जानते हैं कि धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरके मनमें आपके प्रति कितनी भक्ति और कितना स्वाभाविक स्नेह है
bhaktir bharataśārdūla snehāś cāpi svabhāvataḥ | mahābāho bharatavaṃśake siṃha jānāsi dharmarāja-yudhiṣṭhirasya te prati kati bhaktir kati ca svābhāvikaḥ snehaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Tiger unter den Bharatas, Zuneigung und Hingabe entspringen auch der eigenen Natur. O mächtigarmiger Löwe der Bharata-Linie, du weißt wohl, wie viel Verehrung und wie viel angeborene, spontane Liebe Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira für dich hegt.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that devotion (bhakti) and affection (sneha) can be innate and ethically significant: genuine loyalty and love—especially within righteous kingship (dharma)—need not be calculated but may arise naturally, guiding honorable relationships even amid conflict.
Vaiśampāyana addresses a heroic figure with dynastic honorifics, emphasizing that Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira holds deep, natural devotion and affection toward that person—underscoring Yudhiṣṭhira’s disposition and the moral-emotional bonds shaping decisions in the Shalya Parva context.