Shloka 11
वरार्हा युधि जायन्ते क्षत्रिया: शूरसत्तमा: । त्रेतायां क्षत्रिया राजन् सर्वे वै चक्रवर्तिन:,राजन! इसी प्रकार त्रेतायुगमें समस्त भूमण्डलके क्षत्रिय अत्यन्त उत्साही, महान् मनस्वी, धर्मात्मा, सत्यवादी, प्रियदर्शन, सुन्दर शरीरधारी, महापराक्रमी, धनुर्धर, वर पानेके योग्य, युद्धमें शूरशिरोमणि तथा मानवोंकी रक्षा करनेवाले होते हैं
sañjaya uvāca | varārhā yudhi jāyante kṣatriyāḥ śūrasattamāḥ | tretāyāṃ kṣatriyā rājan sarve vai cakravartinaḥ |
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Raja, pada Zaman Tretā lahir kṣatriya—utama di antara para pahlawan—yang layak menerima anugerah dan kehormatan, seakan terlahir untuk gelanggang perang. Dan pada Zaman Tretā itu, wahai Raja, semua kṣatriya sungguh merupakan cakravartin, penguasa semesta.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links true kṣatriya excellence with worthiness for honor and responsibility: the highest warriors are those fit to receive boons and to uphold order. By invoking the Tretā age of cakravartins, it contrasts an idealized past of righteous, capable rulers with the present decline, implying that power should be guided by dharma.
Sañjaya, reporting to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes the qualities and stature of kṣatriyas across ages. He praises the archetype of heroic warriors and notes that in the Tretā-yuga kṣatriyas were universal sovereigns, setting a moral-historical frame for the impending Kurukṣetra war.