Shloka 65

Āśā-prabhava (आशाप्रभव) — On the Rise and Power of Hope/Expectation

Sumitra Itihāsa Begins

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट उवाच सोपायं पूर्वमुद्दिष्ट प्रहादेन महात्मना । संक्षेपेण तु शीलस्य शुणु प्राप्तिं नरेश्वर,धृतराष्ट्रने कहा--नरेश्वर! शीलका स्वरूप और उसे पानेका उपाय--ये दोनों बातें महात्मा प्रह्नादने पहले ही बतायी हैं। मैं संक्षेपसे शीलकी प्राप्तिका उपायमात्र बता रहा हूँ, ध्यान देकर सुनो

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | sopāyaṁ pūrvam uddiṣṭaṁ prahrādena mahātmanā | saṁkṣepeṇa tu śīlasya śṛṇu prāptiṁ nareśvara |

Translation

ధృతరాష్ట్రుడు పలికెను—ఓ నరేశ్వరా! శీల స్వరూపమును, దానిని పొందు ఉపాయమును—ఈ రెండింటినీ మహాత్ముడు ప్రహ్లాదుడు ముందే వివరించాడు. ఇప్పుడు నేను సంక్షేపంగా శీలప్రాప్తికి సంబంధించిన ఆచరణీయ మార్గాన్ని చెబుతున్నాను; శ్రద్ధగా విను.

Word by Word

{'dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca''Dhṛtarāṣṭra said', 'sopāyam': 'together with the means

with the method', 'pūrvam''earlier

previously', 'uddiṣṭam''taught

explained', 'prahrādena''by Prahrāda (instrumental case)', 'mahātmanā': 'by the great-souled one

noble-minded (instrumental case)', 'saṁkṣepeṇa''briefly

in summary', 'tu''but

indeed (contrast/emphasis)', 'śīlasya''of śīla

of good conduct/character', 'śṛṇu''hear

listen', 'prāptim''attainment

acquisition', 'nareśvara''O lord of men

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Prahrāda

nareśvara (the king addressed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That true character (śīla) is not merely defined in theory; it has a practical method of attainment. Dhṛtarāṣṭra signals a concise, actionable instruction on how one acquires ethical conduct, building on Prahrāda’s earlier exposition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra begins a short instructional passage: he acknowledges that Prahrāda has already explained both the nature of śīla and the means to reach it, and he now proposes to restate—briefly—the method for attaining śīla to the king he is addressing.