Shloka 11

आदि पर्व — अध्याय ५५: पाण्डव-कौरववैरस्य संक्षेपवृत्तान्तः

Synopsis of the Pāṇḍava–Kaurava Estrangement

Devanagari script

नेह त्वदन्यो विद्यते जीवलोके समो नृपः पालयिता प्रजानाम्‌ । धृत्या च ते प्रीतमना: सदाहं त्वं वा वरुणो धर्मराजो यमो वा,इस मृत्युलोकमें तुम्हारे सिवा दूसरा कोई ऐसा राजा नहीं है, जो तुम्हारी भाँति प्रजाका पालन कर सके। तुम्हारे धैर्यसे मेरा मन सदा प्रसन्न रहता है। तुम साक्षात्‌ वरुण, धर्मराज एवं यमके समान प्रभावशाली हो

Transliteration

neha tvadanyo vidyate jīvaloke samo nṛpaḥ pālayitā prajānām | dhṛtyā ca te prītamanāḥ sadāhaṃ tvaṃ vā varuṇo dharmarājo yamo vā ||

Translation

Āstīka louva o rei, declarando que neste mundo dos seres vivos não há outro governante igual a ele em proteger e sustentar o povo. O firme autocontrole e a paciência do rei alegram continuamente o coração de Āstīka. Ele diz que o rei possui uma autoridade como a de Varuṇa, Dharma-rāja ou Yama—figuras que encarnam a ordem cósmica, a justiça e a contenção—apresentando assim a realeza como guarda moral, e não mero poder.

Word by Word

• {'neha': 'not here

• in this world', 'tvad-anyaḥ': 'other than you', 'vidyate': 'is found

• exists', 'jīva-loke': 'in the world of living beings

• mortal world', 'samaḥ': 'equal

• comparable', 'nṛpaḥ': 'king

• ruler', 'pālayitā': 'protector

• one who governs and maintains', 'prajānām': 'of the subjects

• of the people', 'dhṛtyā': 'by firmness

• by patience/steadfastness', 'te': 'your

• of you', 'prīta-manāḥ': 'with pleased mind

• delighted at heart', 'sadā': 'always', 'aham': 'I', 'tvaṃ': 'you', 'vā': 'or', 'varuṇaḥ': 'Varuṇa (deity associated with ṛta/order and moral oversight)', 'dharmarājaḥ': 'Dharma-rāja (king of righteousness

• often Yama as judge of dharma)', 'yamaḥ': 'Yama (lord of death

Speaker

आस्तीक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Āstīka
• nṛpa (the king)
• Varuṇa
• Dharmarāja
• Yama
• jīvaloka (mortal world)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents ideal kingship (rājadharma) as protective governance grounded in steadiness and moral restraint. A ruler’s legitimacy is measured by safeguarding subjects and upholding order, akin to cosmic judges like Varuṇa and Yama.

What is happening in the narrative?

Āstīka addresses the king with respectful praise, emphasizing the king’s unmatched capacity to protect the people and likening his authority to divine upholders of justice and order—language suited to persuading a powerful ruler toward dharmic action.