अध्याय ८ — शल्यस्य सत्कारः, वरदानं, पाण्डवसमागमश्च (Śalya’s Reception, the Boon, and Meeting the Pāṇḍavas)
कुशलं राजशार्दूल कच्चित् ते कुरुनन्दन । अरण्यवासादू दिष्ट्यासि विमुक्तो जयतां वर
kuśalaṁ rājaśārdūla kaccit te kurunandana | araṇyavāsād diṣṭyāsi vimukto jayatāṁ vara ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Ó tigre entre os reis, ó alegria da linhagem dos Kuru—estás bem? Verdadeiramente afortunado és por teres sido libertado da dureza de viver na floresta, ó o melhor entre os vitoriosos.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse models dharmic speech in political and familial contexts: one first asks after another’s welfare (kuśalam) and acknowledges relief from suffering with gratitude (diṣṭyā). It frames kingship not merely as power but as responsibility tempered by courtesy, empathy, and recognition of fortune.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating the epic, reports a respectful address to a Kuru prince/king: the speaker inquires about his well-being and notes—‘by good fortune’—that he has been freed from the hardships of forest exile, marking a transition from exile back into the arena of royal affairs.