Shloka 4

धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति व्यवहार-रक्षा-नियमनोपदेशः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Instruction on Administration, Punishment, and Daily Governance

Devanagari script

स त्वां कुरुकुलश्रेष्ठ किंचिदर्थमभीष्सति । श्राद्धमिच्छति दातुं स गाज़ेयस्य महात्मन:

Transliteration

sa tvāṃ kurukulaśreṣṭha kiṃcid artham abhīpsati | śrāddham icchati dātuṃ sa gāṅgeyasya mahātmanaḥ ||

Translation

‘హే కురుకులశ్రేష్ఠా! ఆయన ఒక కార్యార్థం మీ సహాయాన్ని కోరుచున్నాడు. మహాత్ముడైన గాంగేయుడు (భీష్ముడు) కొరకు శ్రాద్ధం చేయదలచెను.’

Word by Word

सःhe

त्वाम्you

कुरुकुलश्रेष्ठO best of the Kuru lineage

किञ्चित्something, a certain

अर्थम्purpose, matter

अभीष्सतिdesires, wishes

श्राद्धम्śrāddha rite

इच्छतिwishes

दातुम्to give, to offer

सःhe

गाङ्गेयस्यof Gāṅgeya (Bhīṣma)

महात्मनःof the great-souled one

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Kuru lineage (Kurukula)

Gāṅgeya (Bhīṣma)

Śrāddha (ancestral rite)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharma expressed through śrāddha—honoring the departed with prescribed rites. Ethical emphasis lies in gratitude, remembrance, and the responsibility of the living to uphold familial and social obligations toward revered elders like Bhīṣma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana informs the addressed Kuru श्रेष्ठ (likely a leading Kuru figure) that someone approaches him with a specific request: to enable or support the performance of śrāddha for Gāṅgeya (Bhīṣma), indicating a ritual act of posthumous honor within the unfolding events of Āśramavāsika.