Shloka 18
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Accession Settlements and Approach to Vāsudeva (युधिष्ठिरस्य राज्यस्थापनं वासुदेवाभिगमनं च)
तथैवोपकश्रिता देवी बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतां वर
tathaivopakāśritā devī buddhir buddhimatāṁ vara, jayaṁ prāptā yaśaśvāgryaṁ na ca dharmac yutā vayam |
Vaiśampāyana said: “In the same way, O best among the wise, the goddess Intelligence has taken refuge in you. By your grace we have attained victory and the highest renown, and we have not fallen away from dharma.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Victory and fame are ethically meaningful only when grounded in dharma; true success is attributed to taking refuge in higher wisdom and righteous guidance rather than mere power.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana reports a statement praising a supreme wise protector (understood in the received gloss as Kṛṣṇa): personified Intelligence is said to rely on him, and ‘we’ credit him for their victory, renown, and steadfastness in dharma.