Shloka 2

Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Saṃvāda on Restraint and Rājānīti

Chapter 50

Devanagari script

के च तत्र सभास्तारा राजानो ब्रह्मवित्तम | के चैनमन्वमोदन्त के चैन प्रत्यषेधयन्‌,ब्रह्मवेत्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ महर्ष! वहाँ कौन-कौन-से राजा सभासद्‌ थे? किसने द्यूतक्रीड़ाका अनुमोदन किया और किसने निषेध?

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca | ke ca tatra sabhāstārā rājāno brahmavittama | ke cainam anvamodanta ke cainam pratyasedhayan ||

Translation

ຊະນະເມຊະຍະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ໂອ ຜູ້ຮູ້ພຣະພຣະຫມັນອັນປະເສີດ! ໃນສະພານັ້ນ ມີກະສັດໃດແດ່ນັ້ນເປັນຫົວໜ້າສະມາຊິກ? ຜູ້ໃດອະນຸໂມທະການພະນັນນີ້ ແລະຜູ້ໃດພະຍາຍາມຫ້າມປາມ?»

Word by Word

केwhich (persons)? who (pl.)?

चand

तत्रthere

सभा-स्ताराःstars/ornaments of the assembly (eminent courtiers)

राजानःkings

ब्रह्म-वित्तमO best knower of Brahman

केwho (pl.)?

चand

एनम्this (one/thing), him/it

अन्वमोदन्तapproved, assented to

केwho (pl.)?

चand

एनम्this (one/thing), him/it

प्रत्यषेधयन्forbade, opposed, prohibited

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janamejaya

brahmavittama (addressed sage, i.e., Vaiśampāyana in context)

sabhā (the royal assembly hall)

rājānaḥ (kings/assembly members)

dyūta (gambling, implied by context)

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?

The verse frames an ethical inquiry: in moments of public wrongdoing, responsibility is shared not only by the actor but also by those who endorse it and those who attempt to stop it. It highlights the moral weight of approval, silence, and opposition within a royal assembly.

What is happening in the narrative?

Janamejaya asks the narrator to identify the prominent kings present in the Kuru assembly during the gambling episode and to distinguish who supported the dice-game and who tried to prohibit it—setting up a detailed account of complicity and resistance in the court.