Shloka 186

धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति व्यवहार-रक्षा-नियमनोपदेशः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Instruction on Administration, Punishment, and Daily Governance

Devanagari script

इति मे वर्तते बुद्धिर्मा नो निन्दन्तु शत्रव: | 'पुरुषसिंह! मेरा यही विचार है कि कुरुवंशी राजा धृतराष्ट्र उक्त महानुभावोंका श्राद्ध न करें। इसके लिये हमारे शत्रु हमारी निन्‍्दा न करें

Transliteration

iti me vartate buddhir mā no nindantu śatravaḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Demikianlah pertimbanganku: jangan sampai musuh-musuh kita mencela kita. Maka tetapkanlah tindakan yang menjaga kehormatan, agar pihak lawan tak memperoleh alasan untuk menuding dan mencerca.”

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• मे: of me / my
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Gender: —, Case: Genitive, Number: Singular

• वर्तते: exists / prevails / is
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत् (वर्तते)
• Form: Tense: Present, Person: 3rd, Number: Singular, Pada: Ātmanepada

• बुद्धिः: thought / intention
• बुद्धिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुद्धि
• Form: Gender: Feminine, Case: Nominative, Number: Singular

• मा: do not / lest
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मा
• Form: Prohibitive particle (used with optative/imperative sense)

• नः: us
• नः: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Gender: —, Case: Accusative, Number: Plural

• निन्दन्तु: let (them) blame / may (they) censure
• Type: Verb
• Root: निन्द्
• Form: Tense/Mood: Imperative, Person: 3rd, Number: Plural, Pada: Parasmaipada

• शत्रवः: enemies
• शत्रवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु
• Form: Gender: Masculine, Case: Nominative, Number: Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• śatravaḥ (enemies)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ethical decisions should be guided not only by private preference but by dharmic propriety that can withstand public scrutiny; one should act so that even adversaries cannot justly accuse one of wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports a speaker’s settled opinion and caution: the proposed course of action should avoid giving enemies grounds for criticism, emphasizing honor and moral legitimacy in a sensitive situation.