Shloka 26
Rājarṣi-samāgamaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhirasya Dharma-parīkṣā ca
Meeting the Royal Sage and a Dharmic Audit
सक्रोध॑ स्तब्धनयनं संदष्टदशनच्छदम् । उद्यम्य च गदां दोर्भ्या नदीतीरेष्ववस्थितम्,उनका क्रोध शान्त नहीं हुआ था। उनकी आँखें स्तब्ध हो रही थीं। वे दोनों हाथोंसे गदा उठाये और दाँतोंसे ओठ दबाये नदीके तटपर खड़े थे
sa-krodhaḥ stabdha-nayanaṁ saṁdaṣṭa-daśana-cchadam | udyamya ca gadāṁ dorbhyāṁ nadī-tīreṣv avasthitam ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Still unappeased in anger, his eyes fixed and unblinking, he clenched his teeth and pressed his lips tight. Lifting his mace with both arms, he stood poised on the riverbank—an image of wrath held in check only by the moment, warning how uncontrolled fury hardens the gaze and readies violence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of krodha (anger): it freezes discernment (fixed eyes), tightens the body into aggression (clenched teeth), and moves one toward violence (weapon raised). It implicitly urges restraint and reflection before action, aligning with dharma as self-mastery.
The narrator describes a figure on a riverbank who remains intensely enraged, physically manifesting fury—staring rigidly, biting down, and raising a mace with both arms—suggesting an imminent confrontation or threatened attack.