Shloka 5

Saubha-nipātana: Kṛṣṇa’s Counter to Śālva’s Māyā

Book 3, Chapter 23

Devanagari script

तत:ः कुरुश्रेष्ठमुपेत्य पौरा: प्रदक्षिणं चक्कुरदीनसत्त्वा: । त॑ ब्राह्मणाश्वाभ्यवदन्‌ प्रसन्ना मुख्याश्न सर्वे कुरुजाड्डलानाम्‌,इसके बाद उदार हृदयवाले पुरवासियोंने कुरुश्रेष्ठ युधिष्िरकके पास जा उनकी परिक्रमा की। कुरुजांगलदेशके ब्राह्मणों तथा सभी प्रमुख लोगोंने उनसे प्रसन्नतापूर्वक बातचीत की

Transliteration

tataḥ kuruśreṣṭham upetya paurāḥ pradakṣiṇaṃ cakrur adīnasattvāḥ | taṃ brāhmaṇāś cābhyavadan prasannā mukhyāś ca sarve kurujāṅgalānām ||

Translation

Then the townspeople, stout-hearted and unbroken in spirit, approached the best of the Kurus (Yudhiṣṭhira) and circumambulated him in reverence. Pleased at heart, the brāhmaṇas of Kuru-jāṅgala and all the leading men greeted him and spoke with him respectfully.

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'kuruśreṣṭha': 'best among the Kurus (epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'upetya': 'having approached, going near', 'paurāḥ': 'townspeople, citizens', 'pradakṣiṇam': 'circumambulation (clockwise), a gesture of honor', 'cakruḥ': 'they did, they performed', 'adīna-sattvāḥ': 'of undepressed spirit

• steadfast, not dejected', 'tam': 'him (Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'brāhmaṇāḥ': 'Brāhmaṇas', 'abhyavadan': 'they greeted, addressed respectfully', 'prasannāḥ': 'pleased, gracious, favorable', 'mukhyāḥ': 'chiefs, leading persons', 'sarve': 'all', 'kurujāṅgalānām': 'of Kuru-jāṅgala (region/people)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Paurāḥ (citizens)
• Brāhmaṇas of Kuru-jāṅgala
• Kuru-jāṅgala

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic social ethics: a righteous person is honored by the community through respectful gestures (pradakṣiṇā, greeting). Even amid hardship, public recognition of virtue and proper conduct sustains moral order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Afterward, the citizens approach Yudhiṣṭhira, circumambulate him as a mark of reverence, and the Brāhmaṇas and leading men of Kuru-jāṅgala greet and converse with him, indicating their goodwill and acknowledgment of his stature.