Shloka 168

अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope

Devanagari script

यदाश्रौष॑ं यक्षरूपेण धर्म समागतं धर्मराजेन सूत । प्रश्नान्‌ कांश्चिद्‌ विब्रुवाणं च सम्यक्‌ तदा नाशंसे विजयाय संजय,सूत संजय! जब मैंने सुना कि धर्मराज यक्षका रूप धारण करके युधिष्ठिरसे मिले और युधिष्ठिरने उनके द्वारा किये गये गूढ़ प्रश्नोंका ठीक-ठीक समाधान कर दिया, तभी विजयके सम्बन्धमें मेरी आशा टूट गयी

Transliteration

yadāśrauṣaṁ yakṣarūpeṇa dharma samāgataṁ dharmarājena sūta | praśnān kāṁścid vibruvāṇaṁ ca samyak tadā nāśaṁse vijayāya sañjaya ||

Translation

โอ้สุตสัญชัย เมื่อข้าได้ยินว่า ธรรมะได้แปลงกายเป็นยักษ์ (ยักษะ) มาพบกับธรรมราชยุธิษฐิระ และยุธิษฐิระได้ตอบปัญหาอันลึกซึ้งที่ถูกถามอย่างถูกต้องครบถ้วน เมื่อนั้นเอง โอ้สัญชัย ความหวังในชัยชนะของข้าก็พังทลายลง

Word by Word

• {'yadā': 'when', 'aśrauṣam': 'I heard', 'yakṣa-rūpeṇa': 'in the form of a Yakṣa (a supernatural being/guardian spirit)', 'dharmaḥ': 'Dharma

• the moral order (also personified as a deity)', 'samāgataṁ': 'having come

• arrived', 'dharmarājena': 'with/for the Dharma-king (epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'sūta': 'O Sūta (charioteer-bard

• here an address to the narrator)', 'praśnān': 'questions', 'kāṁścit': 'some

• certain', 'vibruvāṇam': 'speaking/posing (questions)

• uttering', 'samyak': 'properly

• in the right manner', 'tadā': 'then', 'nāśaṁse': 'I did not hope

• my hope failed', 'vijayāya': 'for victory', 'sañjaya': 'Sañjaya (name

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Yakṣa
• Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Sūta
• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Victory is not merely a matter of strength; it follows Dharma. When Dharma itself tests a person and that person answers with right understanding, it signals moral legitimacy and inner fitness—conditions that undermine the opponent’s confidence in success.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker reports hearing that Dharma, disguised as a Yakṣa, confronted Yudhiṣṭhira with subtle questions, and that Yudhiṣṭhira answered them correctly. This news becomes an omen: the speaker’s expectation of victory collapses because Yudhiṣṭhira’s alignment with Dharma appears confirmed.