Shloka 9

कुरुवंशप्रश्नः—दुःषन्तस्य राजधर्मवर्णनम्

Kuru Lineage Inquiry and the Portrait of King Duḥṣanta’s Rule

Devanagari script

कथं धर्मभृतां श्रेष्ठ: सुतो धर्मस्य धर्मवित्‌ । अनर्ह: परमं क्लेशं सोढवान्‌ स युधिषछ्िर:,धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिर धर्मके ज्ञाता थे, महान्‌ क्लेशमें पड़नेयोग्य कदापि नहीं थे, तो भी उन्होंने वह सब कैसे सहन कर लिया?

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca |

kathaṁ dharmabhṛtāṁ śreṣṭhaḥ suto dharmasya dharmavit |

anarhaḥ paramaṁ kleśaṁ soḍhavān sa yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||

Translation

జనమేజయుడు పలికెను—ధర్మాన్ని ధరించువారిలో శ్రేష్ఠుడు, ధర్మదేవుని కుమారుడు, ధర్మజ్ఞుడైన యుధిష్ఠిరుడు—అటువంటి మహా దుఃఖానికి ఏమాత్రం అర్హుడు కాకపోయినా—ఆ పరమ క్లేశాన్ని ఎలా సహించాడు?

Word by Word

कथम्how?

धर्मभृताम्of the upholders of dharma

श्रेष्ठःthe best

सुतःson

धर्मस्यof Dharma

धर्मवित्knower of dharma

अनर्हःnot deserving

परमम्supreme, extreme

क्लेशम्affliction, suffering

सोढवान्having endured

सःhe

युधिष्ठिरःYudhiṣṭhira

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janamejaya

Yudhiṣṭhira

Dharma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a classic dharma-question: why do the most righteous sometimes face extreme suffering? It highlights the tension between moral worth (an-arhatva, ‘undeserving’) and lived experience (kleśa), inviting reflection on endurance, the complexity of karma and circumstance, and the ethical stature shown in how one bears adversity.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya, listening to the Mahābhārata account, asks how Yudhiṣṭhira—renowned as Dharmarāja and son of the deity Dharma—could have endured such great troubles despite being supremely virtuous. The question sets up an explanation of the causes and context of the Pāṇḍavas’ hardships.