Shloka 19
Āstīka’s Commission and Approach to Janamejaya’s Sarpa-satra (आस्तीक-प्रेषणं यज्ञप्रवेशोपक्रमश्च)
जनमेजय उवाच नास्मिन् कुले जातु बभूव राजा यो न प्रजानां प्रियकृत् प्रियश्न । विशेषत: प्रेक्ष्य पितामहानां वृत्तं महद्वृत्तपरायणानाम्,जनमेजयने पूछा--मन्त्रियो! हमारे इस कुलमें कभी कोई ऐसा राजा नहीं हुआ, जो प्रजाका प्रिय करनेवाला तथा सब लोगोंका प्रेमपात्र न रहा हो। विशेषतः महापुरुषोंके आचारमें प्रवृत्त रहनेवाले हमारे प्रपितामह पाण्डवोंके सदाचारको देखकर प्राय: सभी धर्मपरायण ही होंगे
janamejaya uvāca | nāsmin kule jātu babhūva rājā yo na prajānāṁ priyakṛt priyāś ca | viśeṣataḥ prekṣya pitāmahānāṁ vṛttaṁ mahad-vṛtta-parāyaṇānām ||
Janamejaya disse: “Em nossa linhagem jamais houve um rei que não fizesse o que é caro ao povo e que não fosse por ele amado. E, sobretudo, ao considerar a conduta de nossos antepassados—grandes almas devotadas a caminhos nobres—espera-se que, em sua maior parte, fossem firmes no dharma.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds an ideal of kingship: a ruler should act for the welfare and satisfaction of the subjects and thereby become genuinely beloved; noble ancestral conduct is presented as a benchmark for dharmic governance.
Janamejaya reflects on the reputation of his lineage, asserting that their kings were consistently people-pleasing and well-loved, and he appeals to the exemplary conduct of the ancestors as evidence of their general commitment to dharma.