Shloka 2

Āśvamedhika-parva Adhyāya 1 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament by the Gaṅgā and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel

Devanagari script

वैशमग्पायन उवाच कृतोदकं तु राजान धृतराष्ट्रं युधिष्ठिर: । पुरस्कृत्य महाबाहुरुत्तताराकुलेन्द्रियः

Transliteration

Vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca: kṛtodakaṃ tu rājānaṃ dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | puraskṛtya mahābāhur uttatāra ākulendriyaḥ ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ ജനമേജയ! രാജാവ് ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രൻ ഭീഷ്മനുവേണ്ടി ജലാഞ്ജലി കൃത്യം പൂർത്തിയാക്കിയ ശേഷം, മഹാബാഹുവായ യുധിഷ്ഠിരൻ അദ്ദേഹത്തെ മുൻപിൽ ആദരത്തോടെ നിർത്തി ജലത്തിൽ നിന്ന് പുറത്തെത്തി; അപ്പോൾ അവന്റെ ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങൾ ശോകത്താൽ കലങ്ങിയിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'kṛtodakam', 'definition': 'having performed the water-offering

• having completed the libation/oblations of water (for the departed)'}, {'term': 'rājānam', 'definition': 'the king (accusative singular)'}, {'term': 'dhṛtarāṣṭram', 'definition': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra (accusative singular)'}, {'term': 'yudhiṣṭhiraḥ', 'definition': 'Yudhiṣṭhira (nominative singular)'}, {'term': 'puraskṛtya', 'definition': 'placing in front

• leading forward'}, {'term': 'mahābāhuḥ', 'definition': 'mighty-armed

• a heroic epithet'}, {'term': 'uttatāra', 'definition': 'came up/out

• emerged (from water)'}, {'term': 'ākulendriyaḥ', 'definition': 'with agitated/disturbed senses

Speaker

वैशमग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Janamejaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharma in mourning: even amid intense grief, Yudhiṣṭhira maintains proper ritual duty and social ethics by honoring the elder Dhṛtarāṣṭra, giving him precedence and upholding decorum after loss.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Dhṛtarāṣṭra completes the water-offering rites for Bhīṣma, Yudhiṣṭhira leads him out of the water, placing him in front as a respected elder, while Yudhiṣṭhira himself is emotionally shaken and grief-stricken.