Mahabharata — Mahaprasthanika Parva, Shloka 18

Adhyāya 3: Indra’s Invitation and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Refusal to Abandon the Dog

Svargārohaṇa Test

Devanagari script

धर्मरज उवाच अभिजातोऊसि राजेन्द्र पितुर्व॒त्तेन मेधया । अनुक्रोशेन चानेन सर्वभूतेषु भारत

Transliteration

dharmarāja uvāca | abhijāto 'si rājendra pitur vṛttena medhayā | anukrośena cānena sarvabhūteṣu bhārata ||

Translation

ਧਰਮਰਾਜ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਹੇ ਰਾਜੇਂਦ੍ਰ, ਹੇ ਭਰਤਵੰਸ਼ਜ! ਤੇਰੇ ਸਦਾਚਾਰ, ਤੇਰੀ ਬੁੱਧੀ ਅਤੇ ਸਭ ਜੀਵਾਂ ਪ੍ਰਤੀ ਇਹ ਦਇਆ—ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਕਰਕੇ ਤੂੰ ਸੱਚਮੁੱਚ ਸੁਕੁਲਜਾਤ ਹੈਂ; ਉੱਤਮ ਪਿਤਾ ਦੀ ਵੰਸ਼-ਮਰਯਾਦਾ ਦੇ ਯੋਗ ਸਾਬਤ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈਂ।

Word by Word

• {'dharmarāja uvāca': 'Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira) said', 'abhijātaḥ asi': 'you are well-born

• of noble birth', 'rājendra': 'O best of kings

• O king', 'pituḥ': 'of (your) father', 'vṛttena': 'by conduct, behavior, moral character', 'medhayā': 'by intelligence, discernment', 'anukrośena': 'by compassion, pity, mercy', 'ca': 'and', 'anena': 'by this (quality/act)', 'sarvabhūteṣu': 'toward/in all beings

• among all creatures', 'bhārata': 'O Bhārata

Speaker

धर्मरज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• rājendra (addressed king)
• Bhārata (descendant of Bharata)
• pituḥ (the father, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Nobility is validated not merely by birth but by lived virtues—right conduct, clear intelligence, and compassion toward all beings; these qualities make one truly worthy of one’s lineage and fit for kingship.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the Mahāprasthāna (the great departure), Dharmarāja addresses a kingly figure and praises him, affirming that his behavior, wisdom, and universal compassion demonstrate genuine noble birth and moral excellence.