Shloka 16
Arjuna’s Account of Tapas and the Kirāta Test; Revelation of Maheśvara and the Grant of the Pāśupata-Astra
यथा जिष्णुर्महेन्द्रस्य यथा वायोरव॑कोदर: । धर्मस्य त्वं यथा तात योगोत्पन्नो निज: सुत:,तात युधिष्ठिर! जैसे अर्जुन देवराज इन्द्रके, भीमसेन वायुदेवके और तुम धर्मराजके योगबलसे उत्पन्न किये हुए निजी पुत्र होनेके कारण उनके द्वारा रक्षणीय हो तथा ये दोनों आत्मबलसम्पन्न नकुल-सहदेव जैसे दोनों अश्विनीकुमारोंसे उत्पन्न होनेके कारण उनके पालनीय हैं, उसी प्रकार यहाँ मेरे लिये भी तुम सब लोग रक्षणीय हो
yathā jiṣṇur mahendrasya yathā vāyor avakodaraḥ | dharmasya tvaṃ yathā tāta yogotpanno nijaḥ sutaḥ |
Dhanada said: “Just as Jiṣṇu (Arjuna) is to be protected by Mahendra (Indra), and Avakodara (Bhīma) by Vāyu, so too are you, dear one—Yudhiṣṭhira—being the true son of Dharma, born through yogic power, to be protected by him. In the same way, these two strong-souled brothers, Nakula and Sahadeva, being born of the Aśvin twins, are to be cared for by them. Therefore, here you all are also to be protected by me.”
धनद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharmic guardianship: those who are connected by rightful lineage and duty—especially divine parentage—are ‘to be protected’ by their protectors. It frames protection not as favor but as obligation grounded in Dharma and kinship.
Dhanada (Kubera) addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and the Pāṇḍavas, recalling each brother’s divine paternity—Indra for Arjuna, Vāyu for Bhīma, Dharma for Yudhiṣṭhira, and the Aśvins for Nakula and Sahadeva—and declares that, in the same spirit of rightful protection, he too will protect them here.