Shloka 1
Bhīmasena’s Admonition to Yudhiṣṭhira on Rājya and the Ordering of Dharma–Artha–Kāma
Book 3, Chapter 34
#:2:8 #23:.:7 () हि २ 7 चतुस्त्रिंशो 5 ध्याय: धर्म और नीतिकी बात कहते के युधिष्ठिरकी अपनी प्रतिज्ञाके पालनरूप धर्मपर ही डटे रहनेकी घोषणा वैशग्पायन उवाच स एवमुक्तस्तु महानुभाव: सत्यव्रतो भीमसेनेन राजा । अजातशगत्रुस्तदनन्तरं वै धैर्यान्वितो वाक्यमिदं बभाषे,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! भीमसेन जब इस प्रकार अपनी बात पूरी कर चुके, तब महानुभाव, सत्यप्रतिज्ञ एवं अजातशत्रु राजा युधिष्ठिरने धैर्यपूर्वक उनसे यह बात कही--
vaiśampāyana uvāca | sa evam uktaḥ tu mahānubhāvaḥ satyavrato bhīmasenena rājā | ajātaśatruḥ tad-anantaraṃ vai dhairyānvito vākyam idaṃ babhāṣa ||
Vaiśampāyana said: When Bhīmasena had thus finished speaking, the high-souled king Yudhiṣṭhira—true to his vow and famed as Ajātaśatru—steadfast in patience, spoke these words in reply, holding firmly to the path of dharma and the discipline of self-restraint.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Yudhiṣṭhira as satyavrata—one bound to truth and vows—responding with dhairya (steadfast patience). It signals an ethical stance: even under pressure, a righteous king should answer with restraint and commitment to dharma rather than impulsive anger.
After Bhīma finishes speaking, the narrator Vaiśampāyana tells Janamejaya that Yudhiṣṭhira, calm and resolute, begins his reply. The verse functions as a transition into Yudhiṣṭhira’s forthcoming statement on dharma and proper conduct.