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 dit : «Ce sont des hommes de vaillance et de grande âme, voués au bien des citoyens. Les cinq frères Pāṇḍava—ô rejeton des Kuru—sont doux et pleins d’égards envers les vertueux et les cœurs tendres ; mais face aux durs et aux méchants, ils deviennent terrifiants, tels des serpents venimeux.»

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.