Shloka 13
धृतराष्ट्र-सत्कारः तथा श्राद्ध-दाने नियमनम् | Honoring Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Regulating Śrāddha-Gifts
एवं धर्मभृतां श्रेष्ठो धर्मराजो युधिष्ठिर:,विपरीतकश्न मे शत्रुर्नियम्यश्न भवेन्नर: । राजा युधिष्ठिर बड़े दयालु थे। वे सदा प्रसन्न रहकर अपने भाइयों और मन्त्रियोंसे कहा करते थे कि “ये राजा धृतराष्ट्र मेरे और आपलोगोंके माननीय हैं। जो इनकी आज्ञाके अधीन रहता है, वही मेरा सुहृद् है। विपरीत आचरण करनेवाला मेरा शत्रु है। वह मेरे दण्डका भागी होगा
evaṃ dharmabhṛtāṃ śreṣṭho dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | viparītakṛc ca me śatrur niyamyakṛd bhaven naraḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Thus Yudhiṣṭhira, the Dharma-king and foremost among the upholders of righteousness, declared his policy: whoever acts in accordance with rightful restraint and obedience is to be regarded as his well-wisher; but one who behaves in a contrary manner becomes his enemy and will fall under his discipline and punishment. In this way, out of compassion and steadiness, he urged his brothers and ministers to honor Dhṛtarāṣṭra as a venerable elder and to treat compliance with the elder king’s command as a mark of loyalty to dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous rule is shown through honoring elders and maintaining social order: obedience to rightful authority is treated as friendship and alignment with dharma, while deliberate contrariness is treated as enmity and becomes liable to discipline.
After the war, Yudhiṣṭhira instructs his brothers and ministers to regard Dhṛtarāṣṭra as venerable and to follow his directives; he frames compliance as loyalty and warns that those who act oppositely will be treated as enemies and punished.