Shloka 4

अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira

Devanagari script

पित्रा स्वयमनुज्ञातं कृष्णद्वैपायनेन वै । वनवासाय धर्मज्ञा धर्मज्ञेन नूपेण ह

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | pitrā svayam anu jñātaṃ kṛṣṇadvaipāyanena vai | vanavāsāya dharmajñā dharmajñena nṛpeṇa ha ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Ayant reçu l’autorisation de son père en personne, Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa), et de même la permission du roi connaisseur du dharma, lui—connaisseur du dharma—résolut de partir pour la vie forestière (vanavāsa).

Word by Word

• पित्रा: by the father
• पित्रा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• स्वयम्: personally, oneself
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम्

• अनुज्ञातम्: permitted, allowed
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-ज्ञा
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• कृष्णद्वैपायनेन: by Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa)
• कृष्णद्वैपायनेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णद्वैपायन
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• वै: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• वनवासाय: for forest-dwelling (exile)
• वनवासाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वनवास
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• धर्मज्ञाः: knowers of dharma (righteous ones)
• धर्मज्ञाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्मज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• धर्मज्ञेन: by the knower of dharma
• धर्मज्ञेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्मज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• नृपेण: by the king
• नृपेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• ह: indeed (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa)
• the king (nṛpa; contextually Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Renunciation (vanavāsa/forest-retreat) is portrayed as a dharmic act when undertaken with proper authorization and in harmony with social and moral order—here, sanctioned by Vyāsa and by the dharma-guided king.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator states that permission has been granted—by Vyāsa (as father/elder authority) and by the king (Yudhiṣṭhira in context)—for the intended forest-dwelling, marking a transition from royal life to ascetic retirement after the war’s losses.