Shloka 3
The Departure of Lord Kṛṣṇa from Hastināpura
निशम्य भीष्मोक्तमथाच्युतोक्तं प्रवृत्तविज्ञानविधूतविभ्रम: । शशास गामिन्द्र इवाजिताश्रय: परिध्युपान्तामनुजानुवर्तित: ॥ ३ ॥
niśamya bhīṣmoktam athācyutoktaṁ pravṛtta-vijñāna-vidhūta-vibhramaḥ śaśāsa gām indra ivājitāśrayaḥ paridhyupāntām anujānuvartitaḥ
เมื่อได้สดับถ้อยคำของภีษมเทวะและของอจยุตะ ศรีกฤษณะ พระยุธิษฐิระก็เข้าสู่ญาณอันสมบูรณ์ ความลังเลทั้งปวงถูกขจัดสิ้น ด้วยการพึ่งพาพระผู้ไม่อาจพิชิตได้ พระองค์ทรงปกครองแผ่นดินและท้องทะเลดุจพระอินทร์ โดยมีพระอนุชาทั้งหลายติดตามนอบน้อม
The modern English law of primogeniture, or the law of inheritance by the firstborn, was also prevalent in those days when Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira ruled the earth and seas. In those days the King of Hastināpura (now part of New Delhi) was the emperor of the world, including the seas, up to the time of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the grandson of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira’s younger brothers were acting as his ministers and commanders of state, and there was full cooperation between the perfectly religious brothers of the King. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was the ideal king or representative of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa to rule over the kingdom of earth and was comparable to King Indra, the representative ruler of the heavenly planets. The demigods like Indra, Candra, Sūrya, Varuṇa and Vāyu are representative kings of different planets of the universe, and similarly Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was also one of them, ruling over the kingdom of the earth. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was not a typically unenlightened political leader of modern democracy. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was instructed by Bhīṣmadeva and the infallible Lord also, and therefore he had full knowledge of everything in perfection.
FAQs
This verse says Yudhiṣṭhira ruled the earth like Indra after hearing Bhīṣma and Kṛṣṇa, with his doubts removed by realized knowledge—showing that righteous rule depends on dharma-instruction and divine guidance.
After the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira was burdened by grief and moral doubt; Bhīṣma’s counsel and Kṛṣṇa’s words clarified dharma, enabling him to govern steadily.
Seek guidance rooted in śāstra and devotion, then act decisively: when values are clarified, भ्रम (confusion) reduces and leadership—at home or work—becomes steady and service-oriented.