Shloka 45
अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira
न करिष्यन्ति राजर्षे तथा भीमार्जुनादय: । 'राजर्षे! इन धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिरके संसर्गसे भीमसेन और अर्जुन आदि भी इस जनसमुदाय (प्रजावर्ग)-का कभी अप्रिय नहीं करेंगे || ४४ $ ।। मन्दा मृदुषु कौरव्य तीक्ष्णेष्वाशीविषोपमा:
na kariṣyanti rājarṣe tathā bhīmārjunādayaḥ | mandā mṛduṣu kauravya tīkṣṇeṣv āśīviṣopamāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O royal sage, Bhīma, Arjuna, and the others will likewise never act in a way that is displeasing to the people, so long as they remain in the company and guidance of Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira. Gentle among the gentle, O Kauravya, yet among the harsh they are like venomous serpents.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True dharmic leadership combines gentleness with the gentle and firm, even fearsome, resistance toward the cruel. Under Yudhiṣṭhira’s dharmic influence, the powerful (Bhīma, Arjuna, etc.) are restrained from harming the people, yet remain capable of decisive protection against wrongdoing.
Vaiśampāyana reassures the listener (addressed as ‘rājarṣi’ and ‘kauravya’) about the conduct of Bhīma, Arjuna, and the others: in Yudhiṣṭhira’s company they will not do anything displeasing to the populace. Their temperament is described with a moral contrast—mild toward the mild, but dangerously formidable toward the harsh.