Shloka 14

Devanagari script

व्यास उवाच मा विषादं कृथा राजन क्षत्रधर्ममनुस्मरन्‌ । स्वधर्मेण हता द्ोते क्षत्रिया: क्षत्रियर्षभ,व्यासजी बोले--राजन! क्षत्रियशिरोमणे! तुम क्षत्रियधर्मका बारंबार स्मरण करते हुए विषाद न करो; क्योंकि ये सभी क्षत्रिय अपने धर्मके अनुसार मारे गये हैं

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca mā viṣādaṁ kṛthā rājan kṣatradharmam anusmaran | svadharmeṇa hatā hy ete kṣatriyāḥ kṣatriyarṣabha ||

Translation

Vyāsa dit : «Ô roi, le meilleur des kṣatriya, ne te laisse pas aller au chagrin tout en te souvenant du devoir du guerrier. Ces combattants ont été abattus conformément à leur propre dharma.»

Word by Word

व्यासःVyasa

उवाचsaid

माdo not

विषादम्grief, despondency

कृथाःdo (make)

राजन्O king

क्षत्रधर्मम्the duty of a kshatriya

अनुस्मरन्remembering, calling to mind

स्वधर्मेणby/according to (their) own duty

हताःslain, killed

एतेthese

क्षत्रियाःkshatriyas, warriors

क्षत्रियर्षभO bull among kshatriyas (best of warriors)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyasa

King (Rajan)

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?

Vyāsa urges the king to restrain grief by recalling kṣatriya-dharma: in a righteous war, death accepted in the line of one’s duty is framed as ‘according to svadharma,’ and thus should not become a cause for paralyzing remorse.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s post-war setting, the king is overwhelmed by sorrow and moral anguish over the slaughter. Vyāsa addresses him directly, offering consolation and a dharma-based justification: the fallen warriors met death while engaged in the duty they themselves bore as kṣatriyas.