Shloka 10
Adhyāya 136: Yavakrī–Bharadvāja Saṃvāda and the Bāladhī–Dhanuṣākṣa Gāthā
Arrogance, Boons, and Nimitta
युधिछिर उवाच कथं युक्तो5भवदृषिर्भरद्वाज: प्रतापवान् | किमर्थ च यवक्रीत: पुत्रोडनश्यत वै मुनेः,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--ब्रह्मन्! प्रतापी भरद्वाज मुनि कैसे योगयुक्त हुए थे और उनके पुत्र यवक्रीत किसलिये नष्ट हो गये थे?
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca kathaṃ yukto ’bhavad ṛṣir bharadvājaḥ pratāpavān | kimarthaṃ ca yavakrītaḥ putro ’naśyat vai muneḥ |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O sage, how did the mighty seer Bharadvāja become firmly established in yoga (spiritual discipline)? And for what reason did his son Yavakrīta meet with destruction?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: spiritual power and yogic attainment must be understood alongside the moral causes that lead to downfall. It invites reflection on how discipline (yoga/tapas) should be guided by humility and dharma, since even a sage’s lineage can suffer ruin when conduct deviates from righteousness.
Yudhiṣṭhira asks a sage-narrator to explain two connected matters: (1) how the renowned Bharadvāja became established in yogic discipline, and (2) why Bharadvāja’s son Yavakrīta came to destruction. The question sets up the ensuing story and its moral causality.