Shloka 44

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

viparīta-kṛcchraṁ me śatrur niyamyaś ca bhaven naraḥ |

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: “Orang yang bertindak menentang (perintahku dan apa yang wajar) ialah musuhku; tetapi sesiapa yang menahan diri dan hidup dalam disiplin, dialah insan sejati (yang patut dihormati).” Dalam konteks ini, Raja Yudhiṣṭhira—terkenal dengan belas kasih—berulang kali memberitahu saudara-saudaranya dan para menteri bahawa Dhṛtarāṣṭra harus dihormati sebagai orang tua; sesiapa yang taat pada titahnya ialah sahabat baik Yudhiṣṭhira, manakala yang bertindak bertentangan akan dianggap musuh dan dikenakan hukuman.

Word by Word

• {'viparīta': 'contrary, opposite, acting against what is proper/commanded', 'kṛcchram': 'hardship

• (by sense) trouble, distress, difficulty', 'me': 'of me, my', 'śatruḥ': 'enemy', 'niyamya': 'having restrained (oneself)

• acting with self-discipline', 'ca': 'and', 'bhavet': 'would be, becomes', 'naraḥ': 'man

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• brothers of Yudhiṣṭhira (Pāṇḍavas)
• ministers

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ethical governance as loyalty to rightful authority and self-restraint: honoring elders and following legitimate directives is treated as friendship and dharma, while willful contrariness is treated as enmity and becomes punishable under royal discipline (daṇḍa).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports Yudhiṣṭhira’s stance after the war: he instructs his brothers and ministers to revere Dhṛtarāṣṭra as an elder and to remain under his orders; those who comply are considered allies, and those who act oppositely are regarded as enemies liable to punishment.