Shloka 48
Kṛṣṇa’s Departure, Auspicious Omens, and the Opening of the Uttaṅka Dialogue (कृष्णप्रयाण-निमित्त-उत्तङ्कसंवाद-प्रारम्भः)
आनर्तानवलोक्य त्वं पितरं च महाभुज । वृष्णींश्ष॒ पुनरागच्छेहयमेधे ममानघ
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ānartān avalokya tvaṃ pitaraṃ ca mahābhuja | vṛṣṇīṃś ca punar āgaccheha aśvamedhe mamānagha || mahābāhu niṣpāpa śrīkṛṣṇa! ānarta-deśakī prajāḥ, sva-mātā-pitarau tathā vṛṣṇivaṃśī bāndhavān saṃmilitvā punar mama aśvamedha-yajñe upāgaccha ||
युधिष्ठिर बोले— हे महाबाहु, निष्पाप श्रीकृष्ण! आनर्त देश की प्रजा को देखकर, अपने माता-पिता तथा वृष्णिवंशी बन्धु-बान्धवों से मिलकर, मेरे अश्वमेध यज्ञ में फिर यहाँ लौट आइये।
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic kingship expressed through gratitude and proper conduct: Yudhiṣṭhira honors Kṛṣṇa’s familial and civic duties (meeting his people and kin) while also requesting his presence to complete a major royal rite, showing balance between personal obligations and public responsibility.
After the war, Yudhiṣṭhira is conducting the Aśvamedha to re-establish sovereignty and order. He asks Kṛṣṇa to visit Ānarta (Dvārakā region), see his parents and the Vṛṣṇis, and then return to attend and support the ongoing Aśvamedha sacrifice.