Shloka 5

शान्ति पर्व (अध्याय 38): युधिष्ठिरस्य राजधर्म-जिज्ञासा तथा भीष्मोपसर्पण-प्रस्तावना | Shanti Parva Chapter 38: Yudhishthira’s Inquiry into Rajadharma and the Prelude to Approaching Bhishma

Devanagari script

धन्या त्वमसि पाज्चालि या त्वं पुरुषसत्तमान्‌ | उपतिष्ठसि कल्याणि महर्षीनिव गौतमी

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

dhanyā tvam asi pāñcāli yā tvaṃ puruṣasattamān |

upatiṣṭhasi kalyāṇi maharṣīn iva gautamī ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Blessed are you, O Pāñcālī, for you—auspicious lady—stand in reverent attendance upon the noblest of men, as Gautamī once attended upon the great seers.”

Word by Word

धन्याfortunate, blessed

त्वम्you

असिare

पाञ्चालिO Panchali (Draupadi)

याwho

त्वम्you

पुरुषसत्तमान्the best of men (excellent men)

उपतिष्ठसिyou attend upon, serve, wait on

कल्याणिO auspicious one

महर्षीन्great sages

इवlike, as

गौतमीO Gautami (woman of Gautama’s line; here as a form of address)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāñcālī (Draupadī)

puruṣasattamāḥ (the best of men)

maharṣayaḥ (great seers)

Gautamī

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse upholds dharmic excellence through reverent service and respectful attendance upon the virtuous and wise. It presents such conduct as a mark of blessedness, linking personal virtue to how one honors exemplary persons.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana praises Pāñcālī (Draupadī), calling her fortunate because she attends upon the noblest men, comparing her conduct to that of Gautamī in relation to great sages—an elevating simile that frames her behavior as exemplary.