Shloka 19

Devanagari script

मैवं भव न ते युक्तमिदमज्ञानमीदृशम्‌ । प्रायश्षित्तानि सर्वाणि विदितानि च तेडनघ । राजधर्मश्न ते सर्वे दानधर्माश्च ते श्रुता:,“तुम ऐसे न बनो, तुम्हारे लिये इस तरह अज्ञानका अवलम्बन उचित नहीं है। निष्पाप नरेश! तुम्हें सब प्रकारके प्रायश्चित्तोंका भी ज्ञान है। तुमने सब प्रकारके राजधर्म और दानधर्म भी सुने हैं

Transliteration

māivaṁ bhava na te yuktam idam ajñānam īdṛśam | prāyaścittāni sarvāṇi viditāni ca te 'n-agha | rājadharmāś ca te sarve dānadharmāś ca te śrutāḥ ||

Translation

युधिष्ठिर म्हणाला— “असे होऊ नकोस; तुझ्यासाठी अशा प्रकारच्या अज्ञानाचा आश्रय घेणे योग्य नाही. अनघ नरेशा! सर्व प्रायश्चित्ते तुला विदित आहेत; आणि राजधर्म व दानधर्माचे सर्व विधानही तू ऐकले आहेस. म्हणून धर्म अज्ञात असल्याप्रमाणे बोलू नकोस, वागू नकोस।”

Word by Word

• {'mā': 'do not', 'evaṁ': 'thus, in this manner', 'bhava': 'be (imperative)', 'na te yuktam': 'not proper/fitting for you', 'idam': 'this', 'ajñānam': 'ignorance, lack of right understanding', 'īdṛśam': 'of this kind, such', 'prāyaścittāni': 'expiations, acts of atonement', 'sarvāṇi': 'all', 'viditāni': 'known, understood', 'ca': 'and', 'te': 'to you/your', 'anagha (an-agha)': 'sinless, blameless', 'rājadharmāḥ': 'duties of kingship, royal law/ethics', 'dānadharmāḥ': 'duties of giving/charity, ethics of donation', 'śrutāḥ': 'heard, learned (from tradition/teaching)'}

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• a sinless king (anagha) (addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler should not pretend ignorance of dharma: one who knows expiation (prāyaścitta), royal duty (rājadharma), and the ethics of giving (dānadharma) must act with moral clarity and responsibility rather than despair or confusion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira rebukes and steadies the addressed king, urging him to abandon a posture of helpless ignorance and to remember his learning in expiation, governance, and charity—implying that the situation requires dharmic action, not self-doubt.