Shloka 18

Adhyāya 62: Sañjaya’s Admonition to Dhṛtarāṣṭra on Rāja-dharma and Consequence

Devanagari script

समुद्रान्तां वसुमतीं वसुपूर्णा तु सर्वतः । सतां ब्राह्मणसात्कृत्वा जगामास्तं तदा नृप:,उस समय राजा मान्धाता सब ओरसे धन-धान्यसे सम्पन्न समुद्रपर्यन्त पृथ्वीको ब्राह्मणोंके अधीन करके सूर्यके समान अस्त हो गये

Transliteration

samudrāntāṃ vasumatīṃ vasupūrṇā tu sarvataḥ | satāṃ brāhmaṇasātkṛtvā jagāmāstaṃ tadā nṛpaḥ ||

Translation

Narada berkata: Setelah menjadikan bumi—berbatas samudra dan penuh kekayaan di segala penjuru—tunduk pada para brahmana yang saleh, Raja Māndhātṛ pun kemudian “terbenam”, laksana matahari.

Word by Word

समुद्रान्ताम्bounded by the ocean

वसुमतीम्the earth

वसुपूर्णाम्filled with wealth

तुindeed/but

सर्वतःon all sides/everywhere

सताम्of the good/virtuous

ब्राह्मणसात्कृत्वाhaving made over to the Brahmins / having handed over to Brahmins

जगामwent

अस्तम्setting (to disappearance); to the west

तदाthen/at that time

नृपःthe king

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

King Māndhātṛ

Earth (Vasumatī)

Ocean (Samudra)

Brāhmaṇas (Brāhmaṇa)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents an ideal of righteous kingship: even when a ruler possesses an ocean-bounded, prosperous realm, he should subordinate power and wealth to dharma—symbolized by entrusting it to the virtuous brāhmaṇas—and accept life’s impermanence, departing without clinging.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada recounts that King Māndhātṛ, after ruling a wealthy earth, placed the realm under the authority/guardianship of righteous brāhmaṇas and then departed from the world, compared to the sun setting.