Shloka 45
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
स भवान् मातृपितृवदस्मासु प्रतिपद्यताम् । “आप धर्म और अर्थके ज्ञाता हैं; अतः हमलोगोंकी रक्षा कीजिये। आपमें गुरुत्व देखकर-- आप गुरुजन हैं, यह विचार करके (आपकी आज्ञाका पालन करनेके लिये) हम बहुत-से क्लेश चुपचाप सहते जा रहे हैं; अब आप भी हमारे ऊपर माता-पिताकी भाँति स्नेहपूर्ण बर्ताव कीजिये || ४४ हू ।।
sa bhavān mātṛpitṛvad asmāsu pratipadyatām | āp dharma-artha-ke jñātā haiṃ; ataḥ hamlogoṃ-kī rakṣā kījiye | āpmeṃ gurutva dekhkar—āp gurujan haiṃ, iti vicār karke (āpkī ājñā-kā pālan karne-ke liye) ham bahut-se kleś chupcāp sahte jā rahe haiṃ; ab āp bhī hamāre ūpar mātā-pitā-kī bhānti snehapūrṇa bartāv kījiye ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “May you deal with us as a mother and father would. You are a knower of dharma and artha; therefore protect us. Seeing your authority and considering you to be our elder-teacher, we have silently endured many hardships in order to obey your command. Now you too should act toward us with the affectionate care of parents.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Authority (gurutva) must be matched by compassionate responsibility: one who is regarded as a guru/elder and a knower of dharma and artha should protect dependents and treat them with parental affection, especially when they have endured hardship out of obedience.
In Vaiśaṃpāyana’s narration, a group of dependents/disciples appeals to a revered superior: they remind him that they have silently borne many troubles to follow his orders, and they now request reciprocal care—protection and affectionate conduct like that of parents—grounded in his knowledge of dharma and artha.