Shloka 12

अध्याय ६ — युधिष्ठिरस्य वैराग्य-वाक्यं धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनगमनाभिलाषश्च

Chapter 6: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Renunciatory Appeal and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Resolve for the Forest

Devanagari script

संध्यर्थ राजपुत्रं वा लिप्सेथा भरतर्षभ । विपरीतं न तच्छेय: पुत्र कस्यांचिदापदि

Transliteration

saṁdhyārthaṁ rājaputraṁ vā lipsethā bharatarṣabha | viparītaṁ na tac cheyaḥ putra kasyāṁcid āpadi ||

Translation

ಓ ಭರತವೃಷಭ, ಕೇವಲ ಸಂಧಿ ಅಥವಾ ವಿರಾಮದ ನಿಮಿತ್ತ ರಾಜಕುಮಾರನನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯಲು ಯತ್ನಿಸಬೇಡ. ಯಾವುದೋ ಆಪತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅದು ನಿನ್ನ ಶ್ರೇಯಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಬಹುದು; ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ, ಪುತ್ರ, ಅದನ್ನು ಅನುಸರಿಸಬಾರದು.

Word by Word

सन्ध्यर्थम्for the sake of twilight (rites)

राजपुत्रम्a prince

वाor

लिप्सेथाःyou should desire/seek to obtain

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

विपरीतम्the opposite (course/act)

नnot

तत्that

चेत्if

शेयःyou should lie down/sleep

पुत्रO son

कस्यांचित्in some (unspecified)

आपदिin calamity/distress

Speaker

धघतयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

bharatarṣabha (addressee, a Bharata prince)

rājaputra (a prince)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not pursue a political settlement (saṁdhi) that requires seizing or demanding a prince as a bargaining tool; in times of distress such expedients can become harmful and ethically improper.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra is advising a Bharata prince, warning against a particular kind of crisis-driven diplomacy—seeking a prince ‘for the sake of saṁdhi’—because it may lead to adverse consequences and violate proper conduct.