Shloka 2

Jayadrathasya śoka-bhaya-vilāpaḥ — Droṇena āśvāsanaṃ ca

Jayadratha’s lament and Droṇa’s reassurance

Devanagari script

अर्चयित्वा यथान्यायमुपविष्टं युधिष्ठिर: । अब्रवीच्छोकसंतप्तो भ्रातु: पुत्रवधेन च,उस समय युधिष्ठिरने उनकी यथायोग्य पूजा की और जब वे बैठ गये, तब भतीजेके वधसे शोकसंतप्त हो युधिष्ठिर उनसे इस प्रकार बोले--

Transliteration

arcayitvā yathānyāyam upaviṣṭaṁ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | abravīc choka-saṁtapto bhrātuḥ putra-vadhena ca ||

Translation

Après l’avoir honoré comme il convient selon l’usage, Yudhiṣṭhira s’assit. Puis, consumé par le chagrin—surtout parce que le fils de son frère avait été tué—il s’adressa à lui en ces termes.

Word by Word

अर्चयित्वाhaving worshipped

यथाas, according to

अन्यायम्impropriety, injustice

उपविष्टम्seated (one who had sat down)

युधिष्ठिरःYudhiṣṭhira

अब्रवीत्said, spoke

शोकसंतप्तःafflicted by grief

भ्रातुःof (his) brother

पुत्रवधेनby/with the killing of the son

चand

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Yudhiṣṭhira

bhrātuḥ putra (brother’s son; nephew—contextually Abhimanyu)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid catastrophic loss, Yudhiṣṭhira first observes yathā-nyāya—proper respect and ritual propriety—before speaking. The verse highlights dharmic self-restraint: grief is acknowledged, yet conduct remains governed by ethical and social norms.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira duly honors the person he is addressing, waits until he is seated, and then—overwhelmed by sorrow due to the killing of his brother’s son (the nephew, understood in context as Abhimanyu)—begins to speak.