Shloka 5
Vidurā–Putra Saṃvāda: Utsāha, Kīrti, and Kṣātra Resolve
Udyoga-parva 131
कुन्त्युवाच ब्रूया: केशव राजानं धर्मात्मानं युधिष्ठिरम् । भूयांस्ते हीयते धर्मो मा पुत्रक वृथा कृथा:
kunty uvāca brūyāḥ keśava rājānaṃ dharmātmānaṃ yudhiṣṭhiram | bhūyāṃs te hīyate dharmo mā putraka vṛthā kṛthāḥ ||
Kuntī dit : «Keśava, va trouver le roi Yudhiṣṭhira, l’âme vouée au dharma, et dis-lui ceci : “Mon fils, ton dharma — le devoir de protéger et de gouverner le peuple — s’amoindrit grandement. Ne laisse pas, en vain, s’échapper cette juste occasion d’accomplir le dharma.”»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not only personal virtue but also public responsibility: a king’s foremost dharma is prajā-pālana (protecting and sustaining the people). When rightful action is delayed out of hesitation, dharma itself ‘declines’; therefore one should not waste the moment to uphold duty.
Kuntī urges Keśava (Kṛṣṇa) to approach Yudhiṣṭhira and admonish him. She frames Yudhiṣṭhira’s inaction as a loss of royal duty, pressing him to seize the proper opportunity to act in accordance with kingship and the welfare of the realm.