Shloka 18
ययातिपतन-कारणम् (The Cause of Yayāti’s Fall) — Nārada’s Counsel on Pride and Reconciliation
राजान ऊचु. राजधर्मगुणोपेता: सर्वधर्मगुणान्विता: । दौहित्रास्ते वयं राजन् दिवमारोह पार्थिव
rājāna ūcuḥ | rājadharmaguṇopetāḥ sarvadharmaguṇānvitāḥ | dauhitrās te vayaṃ rājan divam āroha pārthiva ||
The kings said: “O King, lord of the earth! We are your daughter’s sons—endowed with the virtues of royal duty and furnished with the qualities of all dharmas. Ascend to heaven, O sovereign, taking our merit with you.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights rajadharma and the ethical ideal that a ruler’s worth is measured by dharmic virtues; it also reflects the belief that merit (puṇya) can be dedicated or shared, as the grandsons offer their merit to support the king’s heavenly ascent.
A group of kings address an elder king as their maternal grandfather (dauhitra relationship), praising their own dharmic and royal virtues and urging him to ascend to heaven, symbolically offering him their accumulated merit.