Shloka 46

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 niyamyakṛc ca bhaven naraḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “A man who acts contrary to my command is my enemy; but one who restrains himself and acts in accordance with my direction becomes (counted as) my own.” In this context, King Yudhiṣṭhira—renowned for compassion—repeatedly instructed his brothers and ministers to honor Dhṛtarāṣṭra as an elder worthy of reverence: obedience to the old king’s wishes was to be treated as loyalty, while defiance was to be treated as hostility and liable to punishment.

Word by Word

• {'viparīta': 'contrary, opposite, against (what is proper or commanded)', 'kṛt (kṛc/kṛt)': 'doing, acting

• one who does', 'me': 'my', 'śatruḥ': 'enemy', 'niyamya': 'having restrained/controlled (oneself)

• in conformity with restraint', 'bhavet': 'would be, becomes', 'naraḥ': 'man, person'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Loyalty in a righteous polity is defined by disciplined obedience to legitimate authority and reverence to elders: self-restraint and compliance mark a friend, while deliberate contrariness marks an enemy deserving of daṇḍa (punitive correction).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes Yudhiṣṭhira’s consistent instruction to his brothers and ministers: Dhṛtarāṣṭra is to be treated as a venerable elder; those who follow his directives are regarded as allies, and those who act against them are treated as adversaries subject to punishment.