Shloka 1

Bhāgīrathī-tīra-śauca, Kurukṣetra-gamana, and Śatayūpa-āśrama-dīkṣā (गङ्गातीरशौच–कुरुक्षेत्रगमन–शतयूपाश्रमदीक्षा)

Devanagari script

अपन क्ा+< छा | ऑफ क्र षड्विशो<5ध्याय: धृतराष्ट्र और युधिष्ठिरकी बातचीत तथा विदुरजीका युधिष्ठिरके शरीरमें प्रवेश धृतराष्ट उवाच युधिषछ्ठिर महाबाहो कच्चित्‌ त्वं कुशली हासि । सहितो भ्रातृभि: सर्व: पौरजानपदैस्तथा,धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--महाबाहो युधिष्ठिर! तुम नगर तथा जनपदकी समस्त प्रजाओं और भाइयोंसहित कुशलसे तो हो न?

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yudhiṣṭhira mahābāho kaccit tvaṁ kuśalī hāsi | sahito bhrātṛbhiḥ sarvaḥ paurajānapadais tathā ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra disse: “Ó Yudhiṣṭhira de braços poderosos, estás verdadeiramente bem? Vives tu, junto com todos os teus irmãos, e igualmente com os cidadãos da cidade e o povo do campo, em segurança e boa ordem?”

Word by Word

• {'dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra said', 'yudhiṣṭhira': 'Yudhiṣṭhira (eldest Pāṇḍava, king)', 'mahābāho': 'O mighty-armed one

• a respectful epithet for a heroic person', 'kaccit': 'whether indeed?

• a particle used in solicitous inquiry', 'tvam': 'you', 'kuśalī': 'well, safe, in good condition

• prosperous', 'hāsi': 'are (2nd person singular, present of √as, with enclitic emphasis)', 'sahitaḥ': 'together with

• accompanied by', 'bhrātṛbhiḥ': 'with (your) brothers', 'sarvaḥ': 'all (of you)

• entirely', 'paura': 'townsman, citizen (of the capital/city)', 'jānāpada': 'belonging to the countryside/realm

• provincial subject', 'tathā': 'and also

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• the brothers of Yudhiṣṭhira (Pāṇḍavas, implied)
• citizens (paurāḥ)
• people of the countryside/realm (jānāpadāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s dharma is measured not only by personal well-being but by the welfare and security of brothers, citizens, and the wider realm; Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s inquiry frames kingship as responsibility for the whole polity.

What is happening in the narrative?

At the opening of this chapter in the Āśramavāsika Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and asks whether he is well, along with his brothers and all the people of the city and countryside—setting a tone of concern and transition in the post-war period.