Shloka 8
Saubha-nipātana: Kṛṣṇa’s Counter to Śālva’s Māyā
Book 3, Chapter 23
ततस्तमासाद्य महाजनौघा: कुरुप्रवीरं परिवार्य तस्थु: । हा नाथ हा धर्म इति ब्रुवाणा भीताश्ष सर्वेडश्रुमुखाश्न॒ राजन्,उस महान् जनसमुदाय (प्रजा)-के लोग कुरुकुलके प्रमुख वीर युधिष्ठिरके पास जा उन्हें चारों ओरसे घेरकर खड़े हो गये। राजन! उस समय उन सबके मुखपर आँसुओंकी धारा बह रही थी और वे वियोगके भयसे भीत हो हा नाथ! हा धर्म! इस प्रकार पुकारते हुए कह रहे थे--“कुरुवंशके श्रेष्ठ अधिपति, प्रजाजनोंपर पिताका-सा स्नेह रखनेवाले धर्मराज युधिष्ठिर हम सब पुत्रों, पुरवासियों तथा समस्त देशवासियोंको छोड़कर अब कहाँ चले जा रहे हैं?
tatas tam āsādya mahājanaughāḥ kurupravīraṃ parivārya tasthuḥ | hā nātha hā dharma iti bruvāṇā bhītāś ca sarve ’śrumukhāś ca rājan ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then great crowds of people approached the foremost hero of the Kurus and stood surrounding him. Crying, “Alas, our protector! Alas, Dharma!”, all of them—terrified and with tear-filled faces—lamented before him, O king.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical idea that a righteous king is not merely a political leader but a living support of dharma for society; when such a ruler is lost or departs, people feel unprotected and fear moral and social disorder.
Large crowds of subjects rush to Yudhiṣṭhira, surround him, and weep in fear and separation, crying “O protector, O Dharma,” as he is about to depart (contextually, toward exile), showing the public’s distress at losing his guardianship.