Shloka 11

Devanagari script

नान्ध: कुरूणां नृपतिरनुरूपस्तपोधन । ज्ञातिवंशस्य गोप्तारं पितृणां वंशवर्धनम्‌

Transliteration

nāndhaḥ kurūṇāṁ nṛpatir anurūpas tapodhana | jñātivaṁśasya goptāraṁ pitṝṇāṁ vaṁśavardhanam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O ascetic rich in austerity, it is not fitting for the Kurus to have a blind king—one who should be the protector of the kinsmen’s lineage and the increaser of the ancestral line.”

Word by Word

नnot

अन्धःblind

कुरूणाम्of the Kurus

नृपतिःking

अनुरूपःsuitable, fitting

तपोधनO ascetic (one whose wealth is austerity)

ज्ञातिवंशस्यof the kinsmen’s lineage

गोप्तारम्protector

पितृणाम्of the forefathers

वंशवर्धनम्one who increases the lineage

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kuru dynasty (Kurūṇām)

tapodhana (addressed sage)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A king’s legitimacy is measured not merely by birth but by fitness for dharma: he must protect the kin-group and sustain the ancestral line responsibly. The verse frames rulership as guardianship of social and familial order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, narrating to a sage, comments on the Kuru situation: the dynasty lacked a properly suitable ruler—implicitly pointing to a crisis of succession and the need for a king who can safeguard the family line and uphold ancestral continuity.