Shloka 41
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 130: Kuntī’s Instruction on Rājadharma and Daṇḍanīti
ततो रथेन शुभ्रेण महता किडुकिणीकिना । कुरूणां पश्यतां द्रष्टं स््वसारं स पितुर्यया
tato rathena śubhreṇa mahatā kiḍukiṇīkinā | kurūṇāṃ paśyatāṃ draṣṭuṃ svasāraṃ sa pitur yayā ||
Then he set out in a splendid, great chariot, resonant with the jingling of its ornaments, to go and see his sister—she who had gone to her father’s house—while the Kurus looked on. The scene underscores the public, courtly nature of family duty: kinship obligations are not merely private feelings but visible acts that carry social and ethical weight among the Kuru elders.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that dharma in a royal setting includes visible, socially accountable fulfillment of family obligations—acts like visiting and honoring kin are performed with propriety before the community, reinforcing ethical order.
A male figure departs in a splendid, ornamented chariot to visit his sister who is associated with her father’s house, and this departure occurs in full view of the Kurus, indicating a formal, court-observed action.