Shloka 43

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

Transliteration

viparītakṛc ca me śatrur niyamyaś ca bhaven naraḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Whoever acts contrary to my command is my enemy; but the man who remains disciplined—restraining himself and abiding by the injunction—becomes (truly) a loyal supporter.” In context, Yudhiṣṭhira’s stance is ethical and administrative: honoring Dhṛtarāṣṭra as worthy of reverence, he declares that obedience to the elder king’s directives is the mark of friendship, while defiance invites punishment.

Word by Word

• {'viparīta': 'contrary, opposite, acting against', 'kṛt (kṛc)': 'doing, acting (one who acts)', 'me': 'my', 'śatruḥ': 'enemy', 'niyamya': 'having restrained

• acting under discipline', 'naraḥ': 'man, person', 'bhavet': 'would be, becomes'}

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, especially toward elders who deserve honor; deliberate contrariness is treated as enmity and merits corrective punishment (daṇḍa).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Āśramavāsika setting, Yudhiṣṭhira instructs his brothers and ministers to treat Dhṛtarāṣṭra as venerable and to follow his directives; those who oppose this order are declared enemies and liable to punishment.