Shloka 12

Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti

Devanagari script

नैतत्‌ कारणमल्पं हि भविष्यति विशाम्पते । यदेकस्मिन्‌ जगत्‌ सर्व देववद्‌ याति संनतिम्‌,प्रजानाथ! यह सारा जगत्‌ जो एक ही व्यक्तिको देवताके समान मानकर उसके सामने नतमस्तक हो जाता है, इसका कोई स्वल्प कारण नहीं हो सकता

Transliteration

naitat kāraṇam alpaṁ hi bhaviṣyati viśāmpate | yad ekasmin jagat sarvaṁ devavad yāti saṁnatim prajānātha ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O lord of the people, this cannot have a trivial cause. That the entire world, fixing its regard upon a single person, bows down to him as if to a deity—such universal reverence must arise from a weighty reason.”

Word by Word

nanot

etatthis

kāraṇamcause/reason

alpamsmall, slight

hiindeed, for

bhaviṣyatiwill be

viśām-pateO lord of the people

yatthat which

ekasminin one (person/place)

jagatthe world

sarvamall, entire

deva-vatlike a god, as (if) a god

yātigoes, attains

saṃnatimbowing, obeisance, submission

prajā-nāthaO lord of subjects

Speaker

युधिछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes