Shloka 32

धृतराष्ट्र-सत्कारः तथा श्राद्ध-दाने नियमनम् | Honoring Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Regulating Śrāddha-Gifts

Devanagari script

विपरीतकश्न मे शत्रुर्नियम्यश्न भवेन्नर: । राजा युधिष्ठिर बड़े दयालु थे। वे सदा प्रसन्न रहकर अपने भाइयों और मन्त्रियोंसे कहा करते थे कि “ये राजा धृतराष्ट्र मेरे और आपलोगोंके माननीय हैं। जो इनकी आज्ञाके अधीन रहता है, वही मेरा सुहृद्‌ है। विपरीत आचरण करनेवाला मेरा शत्रु है। वह मेरे दण्डका भागी होगा

Transliteration

vaiparītyakṛc ca me śatrur niyamyaś ca bhaven naraḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “A man who acts contrary to my command is my enemy; but one who restrains himself and lives in obedience becomes (counted as) my own.” In this spirit, King Yudhiṣṭhira—known for compassion—would calmly tell his brothers and ministers that Dhṛtarāṣṭra was worthy of honor for them all, and that loyalty to the elder king’s directives was the mark of a true well-wisher, while defiance would invite punishment.

Word by Word

• {'vaiparītya-kṛt': 'one who acts oppositely

• a contrarian, disobedient person', 'me': 'of me

• my', 'śatruḥ': 'enemy', 'niyamya': 'having restrained (oneself)

• acting under discipline', 'ca': 'and', 'bhavet': 'would be

• becomes', 'naraḥ': 'man

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• brothers of Yudhiṣṭhira
• ministers

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ethical governance in terms of discipline and obedience: self-restraint and compliance with rightful authority mark a person as a friend, while deliberate contrariness is treated as enmity and becomes liable to punishment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports Yudhiṣṭhira’s policy and attitude after the war: he instructs his brothers and ministers to honor Dhṛtarāṣṭra as an elder and to regard obedience to the elder king’s commands as the standard of loyalty, while warning that defiance will be punished.