Shloka 43

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट्र: श्लोकमेकं॑ गीताया मानमुच्यते । इस गीतामें छः सौ बीस श्लोक भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्णने कहे हैं, सत्तावन श्लोक अर्जुनके कहे हुए हैं, सड़सठ श्लोक संजयने कहे हैं और एक श्लोक धृतराष्ट्रका कहा हुआ है। यह गीताका मान बताया जाता है,युधिछिर उवाच मन्त्रयस्व महाबाहो हितैषी मम नित्यश: । युध्यस्व कौरवस्यार्थे ममैष सततं वर: युधिष्ठिर बोले--महाबाहो! आप सदा मेरा हित चाहते हुए मुझे अच्छी सलाह दें और दुर्योधनके लिये युद्ध करें। मैं सदाके लिये यही वर चाहता हूँ इति श्रीमहाभारते भीष्मपर्वणि भीष्मवधपर्वणि भीष्पादिसम्मानने त्रिचत्वारिंशो 5ध्याय:

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ—ślokam ekaṃ gītāyā mānam ucyate |

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |

mantray asva mahābāho hitaiṣī mama nityaśaḥ |

yudhyasva kauravasyārthe mamaiṣa satataṃ varaḥ |

iti śrīmahābhārate bhīṣmaparvaṇi bhīṣmavadhaparvaṇi bhīṣmādisammānane tricatvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s single verse is counted in the measure of the Gītā.” Thus the traditional reckoning of the Bhagavad Gītā’s verses is stated. Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O mighty-armed one, ever wishing my welfare, counsel me continually; and fight for the cause of the Kaurava (Duryodhana). This is the boon I desire always.” (Here the narrative frames a formal counting of the Gītā’s speakers and then presents Yudhiṣṭhira’s request, highlighting the tension between personal loyalty, political alignment, and the ethical weight of counsel and warfare.)

Word by Word

मन्त्रयस्वadvise / counsel

महाबाहोO mighty-armed one

हितैषीwell-wishing

ममof me / my

नित्यशःalways

युध्यस्वfight

कौरवस्यfor/ of the Kaurava (Duryodhana)

अर्थेfor the sake (in the matter) of

ममof me / my

एषःthis

सततम्always / continually

वरःboon / choice

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Bhagavad Gītā

Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Arjuna

Sañjaya

Yudhiṣṭhira

Kaurava (Duryodhana’s side)

Mahābhārata

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage foregrounds two ethical concerns: (1) the authority of tradition in defining a text’s scope (the ‘measure’ of the Gītā by speaker-count), and (2) the moral gravity of counsel and allegiance—Yudhiṣṭhira’s request underscores how advice and participation in war are not merely strategic acts but ethically charged commitments.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator (Vaiśampāyana) notes that Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s single utterance is included in the Gītā’s verse-count, then the text presents a speech attributed to Yudhiṣṭhira asking a ‘mighty-armed’ figure to keep advising him and to fight for the Kaurava cause, framed within the Bhīṣma Parvan’s Bhīṣma-vadha context.