Shloka 15

Virāṭanagara-nivāsa-nirṇaya

Decision to Reside in Virāṭa’s City

Devanagari script

युधिछिर उवाच श्रुतमेतन्‍न्महाबाहो यथा स भगवान्‌ प्रभु: । अब्रवीत्‌ सर्वभूतेशस्तत्‌ तथा न तदन्यथा

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca śrutam etan mahābāho yathā sa bhagavān prabhuḥ | abravīt sarvabhūteśas tat tathā na tad anyathā ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „O du Starkarmige, ich habe aufmerksam vernommen, was du gesagt hast. So wie Dharma—der mächtige Herr und Gebieter über alle Wesen—es um unseretwillen verkündet hat, so wird es wahrlich sein; anders kann es nicht werden.“

Word by Word

• {'yudhiṣṭhira uvāca': 'Yudhiṣṭhira said', 'śrutam': 'heard

• listened to', 'etan': 'this (statement/matter)', 'mahābāho': 'O mighty-armed one (a respectful address to a hero)', 'yathā': 'as

• in the manner that', 'sa': 'he

• that one', 'bhagavān': 'the venerable Lord

• the divine one', 'prabhuḥ': 'master

• powerful ruler', 'abravīt': 'said

• declared', 'sarvabhūteśaḥ': 'lord of all beings', 'tat': 'that (declaration/command)', 'tathā': 'so

• exactly so', 'na': 'not', 'anyathā': 'otherwise

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dharma (as Bhagavān, Sarvabhūteśa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Steadfast adherence to dharma: when a righteous, authoritative injunction is received (here attributed to Dharma as lord of beings), one should commit to it without wavering—“so it shall be, not otherwise.”

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira responds to a companion, affirming that he has heard the counsel and that whatever directive Dharma has laid down for their welfare will be followed exactly, with no deviation.