Shloka 3

राजधर्मः—राष्ट्ररक्षणं, दण्डनीतिः, हयग्रीवोपाख्यानम्

Royal Duty: Protection, Penal Policy, and the Hayagrīva Exemplum

Devanagari script

श्रुत्वा वीरविहीनानामपुत्राणां च योषिताम्‌ । परिदेवयमानानां शान्तिं नोपलभे मुने

Transliteration

śrutvā vīra-vihīnānām aputrāṇāṃ ca yoṣitām | paridevayamānānāṃ śāntiṃ nopalabhe mune ||

Translation

ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠಿರನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಓ ಮುನಿಯೇ! ವೀರರನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡು, ಪುತ್ರವಿಹೀನರಾದ ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯರ ಅಳಲನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ ನನಗೆ ಮನಶ್ಶಾಂತಿ ದೊರೆಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.

Word by Word

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी-भाव (usage)

• वीर-विहीनानाम्: of (women) bereft of heroes
• वीर-विहीनानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विहीन (प्रातिपदिक) / वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• अपुत्राणाम्: of sonless (women)
• अपुत्राणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• योषिताम्: of women
• योषिताम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: योषित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• परिदेवयमानानाम्: of (those) lamenting
• परिदेवयमानानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + दिव् (धातु) / परिदेवयमान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त (present participle, आत्मनेपदी), स्त्री, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• शान्तिम्: peace, consolation
• शान्तिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शान्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• उपलभे: I obtain / I find
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, वर्तमान, आत्मनेपद, उत्तम, एकवचन

• मुने: O sage
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

युधिषछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• muni (the sage addressed)
• yoṣitaḥ (women, widows/mourners)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds moral injury and compassion after war: a righteous ruler cannot ignore the suffering of the bereaved. True śānti (peace) is not merely political victory but an inner and ethical reconciliation with the harm done to society’s most vulnerable.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the aftermath of the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a sage and confesses his inability to find peace when he hears the cries of women who have lost husbands and sons—an expression of his remorse and the Shanti Parva’s turn toward reflection on dharma and restoration.