Shloka 42

उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ९३: कृष्णस्य धृतराष्ट्रोपदेशः

Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel to Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the Assembly

Devanagari script

अभ्यभाषत दाशार्हों भीष्म शान्तनवं शनै: । पार्थिवीं समितिं द्रष्टमूषयो$भ्यागता नूप

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | abhyabhāṣata dāśārho bhīṣma śāntanavaṃ śanaiḥ | pārthivīṃ samitiṃ draṣṭum ṛṣayo 'bhyāgatā nṛpa ||

Translation

ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。ダーシャールハたる聖なるクリシュナは、シャンタヌの子ビーシュマにそっと告げた。「王よ、この諸王の集会を見届けるため、聖仙たちが来臨された。」天空に大いなるリシたちの姿を認めたクリシュナは、政の評議と迫り来る戦もまた、より高き道徳と霊性の監察のもとにあることを示した。

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'abhyabhāṣata', 'definition': 'spoke to, addressed (aorist of abhi-√bhāṣ)'}, {'term': 'dāśārhaḥ', 'definition': 'Kṛṣṇa, descendant of the Daśārha/Yādava line'}, {'term': 'bhīṣmaḥ', 'definition': 'Bhīṣma, the grandsire of the Kurus'}, {'term': 'śāntanavam', 'definition': 'son of Śāntanu

• epithet of Bhīṣma'}, {'term': 'śanaiḥ', 'definition': 'gently, slowly, in a low voice'}, {'term': 'pārthivīm samitim', 'definition': 'the royal assembly of kings (lit. ‘earthly’ assembly)'}, {'term': 'draṣṭum', 'definition': 'to see, to behold (infinitive of √dṛś)'}, {'term': 'ṛṣayaḥ', 'definition': 'sages, seers'}, {'term': 'abhyāgatāḥ', 'definition': 'have come near, have arrived'}, {'term': 'nṛpa', 'definition': 'O king (vocative)'}]

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Dāśārha)
• Bhīṣma (Śāntanu-nandana/Śāntanava)
• Ṛṣis (sages; implied Nārada and others in the prose context)
• Royal assembly (pārthivī samiti)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even royal policy and the approach to war are not merely human affairs; they are subject to dharmic evaluation. The arrival of sages symbolizes a higher moral witness, urging restraint, clarity, and responsibility in counsel and decision-making.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the royal court setting, Kṛṣṇa notices sages present (described as in the sky in the accompanying prose) and quietly informs Bhīṣma that they have come to observe the gathering of kings.