Shloka 50

Kuberasaras-darśana (Bhīma beholds Kubera’s guarded lotus-lake) / कुबेरसरः-दर्शनम्

Devanagari script

एष ते5भिहित: पार्थ घोरो धर्मो दुरन्वय: । त॑ स्वधर्मविभागेन विनयस्थोडनुपालय,कुन्तीनन्दन! यह मैंने तुम्हें कठोर राज्य-धर्मका उपदेश दिया है। इसके मर्मको समझना अत्यन्त कठिन है। तुम अपने धर्मके विभागानुसार विनीतभावसे इसका पालन करो

Transliteration

eṣa te ’bhihitaḥ pārtha ghoro dharmo duranvayaḥ | taṁ svadharmavibhāgena vinayastho ’nupālaya, kuntīnandana |

Translation

ಪಾರ್ಥನೇ! ಈ ಘೋರವಾದ ರಾಜಧರ್ಮವನ್ನು ನಾನು ನಿನಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದೆನು; ಇದರ ಮರ್ಮವನ್ನು ಗ್ರಹಿಸಿ ಆಚರಿಸುವುದು ಕಷ್ಟ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಕುಂತೀನಂದನನೇ, ನಿನ್ನ ಸ್ವಧರ್ಮದ ವಿಭಾಗಾನುಸಾರ ವಿನಯದಿಂದ ಇದನ್ನು ಪಾಲಿಸು.

Word by Word

एषःthis (is)

तेto you

अभिहितःhas been declared/told

पार्थO Partha

घोरःterrible, severe

धर्मःdharma, duty

दुरन्वयःhard to understand/follow (lit. of difficult connection)

तम्that (dharma)

स्वधर्मविभागेनby/according to the division of one’s own duty

विनयस्थःbeing humble/standing in discipline

अनुपालयfollow, observe, maintain

कुन्तीनन्दनO son of Kunti

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Kuntī

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?

Even when a dharma is authoritative—especially stern statecraft or kingly duty—it can be subtle and difficult to apply. The instruction is to follow it with humility and disciplined self-restraint, guided by the proper classification of one’s own role-based duties (svadharma), rather than by impulse or pride.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, in the course of narrating the Vana Parva, addresses Pārtha (Arjuna) and concludes or reinforces a prior exposition on a severe and complex form of dharma (implicitly rājadharma). He urges Arjuna to uphold that teaching in practice, with humility, according to the appropriate divisions of duty.