Shloka 12

Daśagrīva-boonāvaraṇa, Viṣṇv-avatāra-niyoga, Vānara-sahāya-janana, Mantharā-nirmāṇa

Devanagari script

युधिष्ठटिर महाबाहो शृणु धर्मभूतां वर

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira mahābāho śṛṇu dharmabhūtāṃ vara | dharmātmāsu śreṣṭha mahābāhu yudhiṣṭhira mama vākyam śṛṇu | ye loke tapasā vihīnāḥ te mahatsukham na prāpnuvanti | manuṣyaḥ krameṇa sukha-duḥkhe ubhe bhuṅkte |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô Yudhiṣṭhira aux bras puissants, le meilleur des hommes de dharma, écoute mes paroles. En ce monde, ceux qui n’ont pas pratiqué l’austérité et la discipline de soi n’atteignent pas la grande félicité. L’être humain, au fil du temps, goûte tour à tour au bonheur et à la peine.»

Word by Word

• युधिष्ठिर: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिर: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• महाबाहो: O mighty-armed one
• महाबाहो: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबाहु
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• शृणु: listen
• शृणु: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular

• धर्मभूताम्: that which is in accordance with dharma / righteous
• धर्मभूताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्मभूत
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• वराम्: excellent (speech/statement)
• वराम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Great and stable well-being is linked to tapas—disciplined self-restraint and sustained effort. Without such inner discipline, one does not reach ‘mahatsukha’; and in ordinary life one must be prepared to meet both happiness and sorrow as alternating experiences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses Yudhiṣṭhira directly, offering moral instruction. He frames the teaching as counsel to a dharma-minded king: accept the alternation of joy and grief, and recognize austerity/self-discipline as a necessary means for higher happiness.