Shloka 17
कुरुसभायां केशवागमन-सत्कारविधानम् / Preparations to Honor Keśava at the Kuru Court
नित्यं हृष्ट: सुमनसो भारतैरभिरक्षिता: | नोद्विग्ना: परचक्राणां व्यसनानामकोविदा:
nityaṁ hṛṣṭāḥ sumanasaḥ bhāratair abhirakṣitāḥ | nodvignāḥ paracakrāṇāṁ vyasanānām akovidāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Ever joyful and of cheerful mind, protected by the Bhāratas, the townspeople lived without anxiety. They were not disturbed by hostile armies, and being unacquainted with calamity, they scarcely knew what suffering and crisis were—standing together on the road, eager to behold Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa as he approached from Upaplavya.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s dharma includes safeguarding people so thoroughly that ordinary life remains free from fear and constant anxiety; such protection fosters collective well-being, cheerfulness, and moral stability, even as larger political dangers gather elsewhere.
The narration describes the citizens gathering along the road to see Śrī Kṛṣṇa arriving (from Upaplavya in the surrounding context). Their mood is confident and joyful because they live under strong protection and have little experience of the distress caused by enemy armies or major calamities.