Shloka 41

Kṛṣṇa at Duryodhana’s House: Refusal of Hospitality and Departure to Vidura (कृष्णस्य धार्तराष्ट्रनिवेशनगमनम्)

Devanagari script

सुखोचितमदु:खार्ह सुकुमारं महारथम्‌ । अपि जातु महाबाहो पश्येयं नकुलं पुनः,“महाबाहो! क्या मैं सुख-भोगके योग्य, दुःख भोगनेके अयोग्य एवं सुकुमार महारथी नकुलको फिर कभी देख सकूँगी?

Transliteration

sukhocitam aduḥkhārha sukumāraṃ mahāratham | api jātu mahābāho paśyeyaṃ nakulaṃ punaḥ ||

Translation

“O mighty-armed one, will I ever again behold Nakula—so delicately nurtured, fit for comfort and not for suffering, and yet a great chariot-warrior?”

Word by Word

सुखोचितम्fit for comfort/pleasure

अदुःखार्हम्not deserving of suffering; unfit for hardship

सुकुमारम्delicate, tender

महारथम्great chariot-warrior

अपिeven; perhaps; indeed

जातुever; at any time

महाबाहोO mighty-armed one

पश्येयम्may I see

नकुलम्Nakula

पुनःagain

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Nakula

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the human cost of impending war: even a warrior’s excellence (mahāratha) does not erase a loved one’s fear for his suffering. It ethically frames conflict through compassion and the vulnerability of those who must send the ‘comfort-raised’ into hardship.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a speaker expresses anxious longing to see Nakula again, describing him as tender and accustomed to comfort, and wonders whether he will survive the coming trials to be seen once more.