Shloka 5

Devanagari script

तात युधिष्ठिर! तुम धर्मकी सूक्ष्म गतिको जानते हो। महामते! तुममें विनय है। तुमने बड़े-बूढ़ोंकी उपासना की है ।। यतो बुद्धिस्ततः शान्ति: प्रशमं गच्छ भारत । नादारुणि पतेच्छस्त्रं दारुण्येतन्निपात्यते,जहाँ बुद्धि है, वहीं शान्ति है। भारत! तुम शान्त हो जाओ। (जो कुछ हुआ है, उसे भूल जाओ।) पत्थर या लोहेपर कुल्हाड़ी नहीं पड़ती। लोग उसे लकड़ीपर ही चलाते हैं

Transliteration

tāta yudhiṣṭhira! tvaṃ dharmasya sūkṣmāṃ gatiṃ jānāsi. mahāmate! tvayi vinayo 'sti. tvayā vṛddhānām upāsanā kṛtā. yato buddhis tato śāntiḥ; praśamaṃ gaccha bhārata. nādāruṇi patet śastraṃ; dāruṇy etan nipātyate.

Translation

“Dear Yudhiṣṭhira, you understand the subtle course of dharma. O great-minded one, humility abides in you, and you have served and revered the elders. Where there is discernment, there is peace; therefore, O Bhārata, enter into calm—let your agitation subside. A weapon does not strike stone or iron; it is brought down upon wood.”

Word by Word

यतःfrom where; wherefrom

बुद्धिःintelligence; understanding

ततःfrom there; thence

शान्तिःpeace; calm

प्रशमम्tranquillity; pacification

गच्छgo; attain

भारतO Bharata (descendant of Bharata)

नnot

अदारुणिon what is not hard (i.e., not tough)

पतेत्would fall; should fall

शस्त्रम्weapon; axe/blade

दारुण्येon hardness; on hard material

एतत्this

निपात्यतेis made to fall; is applied/struck down

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Bhārata (Kuru lineage epithet)

elders (vṛddhāḥ)

weapon (śastra)

stone/iron (adāru)

wood (dāru)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True peace arises from buddhi—clear discernment—and is sustained by vinaya (humility) and reverence for elders. The counsel urges Yudhiṣṭhira to choose praśama (inner pacification) over reactive anger, implying that wise strength is shown through restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Sabha Parva context of mounting tension and humiliation, Yudhiṣṭhira is addressed and urged to remain composed. The speaker praises his understanding of dharma and his disciplined character, then uses a proverb—an axe is used on wood, not on stone or iron—to suggest that aggression targets the vulnerable and that the wise should not be provoked into destructive retaliation.