Shloka 42

धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

यो5हं भवन्‍न्तं दुःखार्तमुपवासकृशं भूशम्‌ । जिताहारं क्षितिशयं न विन्दे भ्रातृभि: सह,आप दुःखसे आतुर और उपवास करनेके कारण अत्यन्त दुर्बल होकर पृथ्वीपर शयन कर रहे हैं तथा भोजनपर भी संयम कर लिया है और मैं भाइयोंसहित आपकी इस अवस्थाका पता ही न पा सका

Transliteration

yo 'haṁ bhavantaṁ duḥkhārtaṁ upavāsa-kṛśaṁ bhūśam | jitāhāraṁ kṣitiśayaṁ na vinde bhrātṛbhiḥ saha ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Engkau dilanda duka, sangat kurus karena puasa, mengekang diri dalam makan, dan berbaring di atas tanah; namun aku, meski mencari bersama saudara-saudaraku, tidak juga mengetahui keadaanmu.”

Word by Word

यःwho

अहम्I

भवन्तम्you (honorific), (as object)

दुःख-आर्तम्afflicted by sorrow

उपवास-कृशम्emaciated due to fasting

भू-शयम्lying on the ground

जित-आहारम्one who has restrained food (diet-controlled)

क्षिति-शयम्lying on the earth

नnot

विन्देI find / I come to know

भ्रातृभिःwith (my) brothers

सहtogether with

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

the addressed elder (honorific 'bhavantam')

the brothers (Pāṇḍavas collectively)

earth/ground (kṣiti, bhū)

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?

The verse highlights ethical responsibility toward elders and dependents: even a righteous king must remain vigilant to others’ suffering. It also frames fasting, restraint, and sleeping on the ground as marks of ascetic hardship that demand compassionate response rather than neglect.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses an honored person who has withdrawn into severe austerity—fasting, food-restraint, and sleeping on the earth—while burdened by grief. He laments that he and his brothers could not locate or learn of this condition in time.