Shloka 4

धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Permission for Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Forest-Retirement

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच एवमुक्त: स राजर्षिर्धर्मराजेन धीमता । कौन्तेयं समनुज्ञातुमियेष भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca

evam uktaḥ sa rājarṣir dharmarājena dhīmatā |

kaunteyaṁ samanugñātum iyeṣa bharatarṣabha ||

…

yadā duryodhanenedaṁ bhukte rājyam akaṇṭakam ||

Translation

ਵੈਸ਼ੰਪਾਯਨ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—“ਹੇ ਭਰਤਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਸ੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ! ਬੁੱਧਿਮਾਨ ਧਰਮਰਾਜ ਯੁਧਿਸ਼ਠਿਰ ਦੇ ਇਉਂ ਕਹਿਣ ‘ਤੇ ਰਾਜਰਿਸ਼ੀ ਧ੍ਰਿਤਰਾਸ਼ਟਰ ਨੇ ਕੁੰਤੀਪੁੱਤਰ ਕੋਲੋਂ ਪ੍ਰਸਥਾਨ ਦੀ ਆਗਿਆ ਲੈਣ ਦੀ ਇੱਛਾ ਕੀਤੀ। ਉਹ ਬੋਲਣ ਲੱਗਾ ਅਤੇ ਉਸ ਸਮੇਂ ਨੂੰ ਯਾਦ ਕਰਨ ਲੱਗਾ ਜਦੋਂ ਦੁਰਯੋਧਨ ਨੇ ਇਹ ਰਾਜ ਬਿਨਾ ਰੁਕਾਵਟ ਭੋਗਿਆ ਸੀ।”

Word by Word

• {'evam': 'thus, in this manner', 'uktaḥ': 'having been spoken to

• addressed', 'sa': 'he, that (person)', 'rājarṣiḥ': 'royal sage

• a king of saintly disposition', 'dharmarājena': 'by Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)

• by the king devoted to dharma', 'dhīmatā': 'by the intelligent, wise one', 'kaunteyam': 'the son of Kuntī

• Yudhiṣṭhira (also a general epithet for the Pāṇḍavas)', 'samanugñātum': 'to obtain full permission/leave

• to take consent respectfully', 'iyeṣa': 'desired, intended', 'bharatarṣabha': 'O best of the Bharatas (honorific address)', 'yadā': 'when', 'duryodhanena': 'by Duryodhana', 'idam': 'this', 'bhukte': 'was enjoyed/ruled over

• experienced as possession', 'rājyam': 'kingdom, sovereignty', 'akaṇṭakam': 'without thorn/obstacle

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Kuntī
• Duryodhana
• Bharatas (dynasty)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a king must act within dharma: major life-transitions (like withdrawal/renunciation) are undertaken with humility and consent, and are framed by honest remembrance of how unchecked power (akaṇṭaka-rājya) can enable adharma and lead to ruin.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Yudhiṣṭhira speaks, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, described as a rājarṣi, wishes to take leave from Yudhiṣṭhira (the Kaunteya) to depart—beginning a reflective statement that looks back to the period when Duryodhana ruled without opposition.