Shloka 14

जयद्रथ-निग्रहः — Jayadratha Restrained, Shamed, and Released

Devanagari script

आहर्तु कौरवश्रेष्ठ कुले तव नृपोत्तम । दीर्घायुर्जीवति च ते धृतराष्ट्र: पिता नृप

Transliteration

āhartum kauravaśreṣṭha kule tava nṛpottama | dīrghāyur jīvati ca te dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ pitā nṛpa ||

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను— “కౌరవశ్రేష్ఠా, నృపోత్తమా! అతనిని ఇక్కడికి తీసుకురా; ఎందుకంటే, ఓ రాజా, నీ వంశంలో నీ దీర్ఘాయుష్మంతుడైన తండ్రి ధృతరాష్ట్రుడు ఇంకా జీవించి ఉన్నాడు.”

Word by Word

आहर्तुfor the bringer/collector

कौरवश्रेष्ठO best of the Kauravas

कुलेin the family

तवof you/your

नृपोत्तमO best of kings

दीर्घायु:long-lived

जीवतिlives

चand

तेof you/your

धृतराष्ट्रःDhritarashtra

पिताfather

नृपO king

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kuru lineage (Kauravas)

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical weight of family and dynastic responsibility: a king is reminded of his living father and the obligations that arise from lineage, respect for elders, and rightful conduct within one’s house.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses a Kuru king, instructing him to go and bring someone (contextually, a person to be fetched) and emphasizes that Dhṛtarāṣṭra—his father—still lives, framing the instruction within the authority and continuity of the Kuru family line.