Shloka 456

अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira

Devanagari script

वीर्यवन्तो महात्मान: पौराणां च हिते रता: । “कुरुनन्दन! ये पाँचों भाई पाण्डव बड़े पराक्रमी

Transliteration

vīryavanto mahātmānaḥ paurāṇāṃ ca hite ratāḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Son hombres de valor y gran espíritu, entregados al bienestar de los ciudadanos. Los cinco hermanos Pāṇḍava—oh vástago de los Kurus—son gentiles y considerados con los virtuosos y los de corazón tierno; pero ante los duros y malvados se vuelven terribles, como serpientes venenosas.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vīryavant', 'definition': 'possessed of valor, heroic, powerful'}, {'term': 'mahātman', 'definition': 'great-souled, noble-minded'}, {'term': 'paurāḥ / paurāṇām', 'definition': 'citizens, townspeople

• (gen.) ‘of the citizens’'}, {'term': 'hita', 'definition': 'welfare, benefit, well-being'}, {'term': 'rata', 'definition': 'engaged in, devoted to, delighting in'}, {'term': 'kurunandana', 'definition': '‘delight of the Kurus’

• an honorific address to a Kuru prince'}, {'term': 'pāṇḍavāḥ', 'definition': 'the five sons of Pāṇḍu (Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva)'}, {'term': 'satpuruṣa', 'definition': 'good person, virtuous man'}, {'term': 'mṛdutā', 'definition': 'gentleness, mildness, tenderness'}, {'term': 'duṣṭa', 'definition': 'wicked, corrupt, malicious'}, {'term': 'viṣadhara sarpa', 'definition': 'venom-bearing serpent

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pāṇḍavas (the five brothers)
• Kuru-nandana (addressed Kuru prince)
• Citizens (paurāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True dharmic leadership combines compassion with firmness: the righteous protect and nurture the good, yet become fearsome in restraining and punishing the wicked for the sake of public welfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the character of the five Pāṇḍavas to a Kuru prince, emphasizing their heroic strength and their commitment to the citizens’ welfare, along with their contrasting gentleness toward the virtuous and severity toward wrongdoers.