Shloka 456

Devanagari script

वीर्यवन्तो महात्मान: पौराणां च हिते रता: । “कुरुनन्दन! ये पाँचों भाई पाण्डव बड़े पराक्रमी, महामनस्वी और पुरवासियोंके हितसाधनमें लगे रहनेवाले हैं। ये कोमल स्वभाववाले सत्पुरुषोंके प्रति मृदुतापूर्ण बर्ताव करते हैं, किंतु तीखे स्वभाववाले दुष्टोंके लिये ये विषधर सर्पोके समान भयंकर बन जाते हैं

Transliteration

vīryavanto mahātmānaḥ paurāṇāṃ ca hite ratāḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “They are men of valor and great spirit, devoted to the welfare of the citizens. The five Pāṇḍava brothers—O scion of the Kurus—are gentle and considerate toward the virtuous and the soft-hearted; but toward the harsh and wicked they become terrifying, like venomous serpents.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vīryavant', 'definition': 'possessed of valor, heroic, powerful'}, {'term': 'mahātman', 'definition': 'great-souled, noble-minded'}, {'term': 'paurāḥ / paurāṇām', 'definition': 'citizens, townspeople

• (gen.) ‘of the citizens’'}, {'term': 'hita', 'definition': 'welfare, benefit, well-being'}, {'term': 'rata', 'definition': 'engaged in, devoted to, delighting in'}, {'term': 'kurunandana', 'definition': '‘delight of the Kurus’

• an honorific address to a Kuru prince'}, {'term': 'pāṇḍavāḥ', 'definition': 'the five sons of Pāṇḍu (Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva)'}, {'term': 'satpuruṣa', 'definition': 'good person, virtuous man'}, {'term': 'mṛdutā', 'definition': 'gentleness, mildness, tenderness'}, {'term': 'duṣṭa', 'definition': 'wicked, corrupt, malicious'}, {'term': 'viṣadhara sarpa', 'definition': 'venom-bearing serpent

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pāṇḍavas (the five brothers)
• Kuru-nandana (addressed Kuru prince)
• Citizens (paurāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True dharmic leadership combines compassion with firmness: the righteous protect and nurture the good, yet become fearsome in restraining and punishing the wicked for the sake of public welfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the character of the five Pāṇḍavas to a Kuru prince, emphasizing their heroic strength and their commitment to the citizens’ welfare, along with their contrasting gentleness toward the virtuous and severity toward wrongdoers.