Shloka 12

Bhīmasena’s Admonition to Yudhiṣṭhira on Rājya and the Ordering of Dharma–Artha–Kāma

Book 3, Chapter 34

Devanagari script

वयं चैतद्‌ भारत सर्व एव त्वया जिता: कालमपास्य भोगान्‌ | वसेम इत्याह पुरा स राजा मध्ये कुरूणां स मयोक्तस्तथेति,“भारत! यदि आपने ही हम सब लोगोंको जीत लिया तो हम भी उतने ही समयतक सारे भोगोंका परित्याग करके उसी प्रकार वास करेंगे।” राजा दुर्योधनने जब समस्त कौरवोंके बीच इस प्रकार कहा, तब मैंने भी “तथास्तु/ कहकर उसकी बात मान ली

Transliteration

vayaṃ caitad bhārata sarva eva tvayā jitāḥ kālam apāsya bhogān | vase ma ity āha purā sa rājā madhye kurūṇāṃ sa mayoktas tatheti ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „O Bhārata, wenn du uns alle wahrhaft besiegt hast, dann werden auch wir für die gleiche Zeit die Genüsse beiseitelegen und in derselben Weise leben.“ So sprach einst jener König (Duryodhana) inmitten der Kurus; und ich erwiderte: „So sei es“, und nahm sein Wort an.

Word by Word

• {'vayam': 'we', 'ca': 'and', 'etad': 'this (statement/condition)', 'bhārata': 'O Bhārata (address to a descendant of Bharata

• here, to Dhṛtarāṣṭra/epic interlocutor)', 'sarve eva': 'all indeed, without exception', 'tvayā': 'by you', 'jitāḥ': 'conquered/defeated', 'kālam': 'for a period of time', 'apāsya': 'having set aside, renouncing', 'bhogān': 'enjoyments, pleasures', 'vasema': 'we shall dwell/live', 'iti': 'thus (quotative)', 'āha': 'said', 'purā': 'formerly, earlier', 'sa rājā': 'that king', 'madhye': 'in the midst of', 'kurūṇām': 'of the Kurus', 'mayā uktam': 'said by me / I said', 'tathā iti (tathā-iti)': '‘so it is/so be it’ (assent, acceptance)'}

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Duryodhana
• Kurus
• Bhārata (addressee/lineage epithet)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights ethical accountability in speech: a public commitment—especially among rulers—binds one to restraint and reciprocity. Victory is not merely domination; it entails accepting equal terms and honoring vows, including the renunciation of pleasures for a stipulated time.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira recalls an earlier moment when Duryodhana, before the assembled Kurus, declared that if he had truly defeated them, they too would renounce enjoyments for the same duration and live accordingly. Yudhiṣṭhira states that he assented with “tathā iti,” accepting the condition.