Shloka 21

Sātyaki’s Call for Intervention and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Vow-Bound Restraint (सात्यकिवाक्यं—धर्मराजस्य धैर्यनिश्चयः)

Devanagari script

ततो<भिमन्यु: पृथिवीं प्रशास्तु यावद्‌ व्रतं धर्मभृतां वरिष्ठ: । युधिष्ठिर: पारयते महात्मा द्यूते यथोक्त कुरुसत्तमेन,धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ महात्मा युधिष्ठिस जबतक अपने उस व्रतको, जिसे इन कुरुकुलभूषणने जूएके समय प्रतिज्ञापूर्वक स्वीकार किया था, पूर्ण न कर लें, तबतक अभिमन्यु इस पृथ्वीका शासन करे

Transliteration

tato 'bhimanyuḥ pṛthivīṃ praśāstu yāvad vrataṃ dharmabhṛtāṃ variṣṭhaḥ | yudhiṣṭhiraḥ pārayate mahātmā dyūte yathoktaṃ kurusattamena ||

Translation

ਤਦ (ਬਲਰਾਮ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ)—ਧਰਮ ਦੇ ਧਾਰਕਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਉੱਤਮ ਮਹਾਤਮਾ ਯੁਧਿਸ਼ਠਿਰ, ਕੁਰੂਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ ਨੇ ਜੂਏ ਦੇ ਵੇਲੇ ਜਿਵੇਂ ਕਿਹਾ ਸੀ, ਉਹ ਵ੍ਰਤ ਪੂਰਾ ਕਰ ਲਏ ਤਕ ਅਭਿਮਨ੍ਯੂ ਇਸ ਧਰਤੀ ਦਾ ਰਾਜ ਸੰਭਾਲੇ।

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'abhimanyuḥ': 'Abhimanyu (son of Arjuna)', 'pṛthivīm': 'the earth

• the kingdom/realm', 'praśāstu': 'let him rule/govern (imperative/optative sense)', 'yāvat': 'as long as

• until', 'vratam': 'vow, solemn observance, pledged undertaking', 'dharmabhṛtām': 'of the upholders/bearers of dharma', 'variṣṭhaḥ': 'the श्रेष्ठ/foremost, best', 'yudhiṣṭhiraḥ': 'Yudhiṣṭhira', 'pārayate': 'brings to completion

• carries through', 'mahātmā': 'great-souled, noble-minded', 'dyūte': 'in the dice-game

• at gambling', 'yathoktam': 'as was said/declared

• according to what was stated', 'kurusattamena': 'by the best of the Kurus (an epithet

Speaker

बलदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Baladeva (Balarama)
• Abhimanyu
• Yudhisthira
• Kuru (dynasty/lineage)
• Dyuta (the dice-game episode)
• Prithivi (the earth/kingdom)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s legitimacy is tied to dharma: solemn vows must be honored even when inconvenient, and governance should be arranged so that social order continues without forcing a breach of pledged duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Balarāma proposes an interim arrangement: Abhimanyu should govern the realm while Yudhiṣṭhira completes the vow he accepted during the dice-game, thereby preserving both political stability and fidelity to a binding pledge.