Shloka 12

अध्याय ६ — युधिष्ठिरस्य वैराग्य-वाक्यं धृतराष्ट्रस्य वनगमनाभिलाषश्च

Chapter 6: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Renunciatory Appeal and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Resolve for the Forest

Devanagari script

संध्यर्थ राजपुत्रं वा लिप्सेथा भरतर्षभ । विपरीतं न तच्छेय: पुत्र कस्यांचिदापदि

Transliteration

saṁdhyārthaṁ rājaputraṁ vā lipsethā bharatarṣabha | viparītaṁ na tac cheyaḥ putra kasyāṁcid āpadi ||

Translation

Ó touro entre os Bhāratas, não procures obter um príncipe apenas por causa de um compromisso ou de uma trégua. Em alguma crise, tal caminho se mostra contrário ao teu verdadeiro bem; por isso, meu filho, não deve ser seguido.

Word by Word

• सन्ध्यर्थम्: for the sake of twilight (rites)
• सन्ध्यर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन्ध्या + अर्थ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• राजपुत्रम्: a prince
• राजपुत्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• लिप्सेथाः: you should desire/seek to obtain
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• भरतर्षभ: O bull among the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत + ऋषभ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• विपरीतम्: the opposite (course/act)
• विपरीतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपरीत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• चेत्: if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत्

• शेयः: you should lie down/sleep
• Type: Verb
• Root: शी (शे)
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 2nd, Singular, Atmanepada

• पुत्र: O son
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कस्यांचित्: in some (unspecified)
• कस्यांचित्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: क + चित् (कश्चित्)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• आपदि: in calamity/distress
• आपदि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आपद्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

धघतयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• bharatarṣabha (addressee, a Bharata prince)
• rājaputra (a prince)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not pursue a political settlement (saṁdhi) that requires seizing or demanding a prince as a bargaining tool; in times of distress such expedients can become harmful and ethically improper.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra is advising a Bharata prince, warning against a particular kind of crisis-driven diplomacy—seeking a prince ‘for the sake of saṁdhi’—because it may lead to adverse consequences and violate proper conduct.