Shloka 12

Devanagari script

संध्यर्थ राजपुत्रं वा लिप्सेथा भरतर्षभ । विपरीतं न तच्छेय: पुत्र कस्यांचिदापदि

Transliteration

saṁdhyārthaṁ rājaputraṁ vā lipsethā bharatarṣabha | viparītaṁ na tac cheyaḥ putra kasyāṁcid āpadi ||

Translation

โอผู้ประเสริฐดุจโคอุสุภในหมู่ภารตะ อย่าใฝ่หาจะได้องค์ราชกุมารเพียงเพื่อการประนีประนอมหรือพักรบเท่านั้น ในยามวิกฤต หนทางเช่นนั้นกลับเป็นปฏิปักษ์ต่อประโยชน์แท้ของตน; เพราะฉะนั้น ลูกเอ๋ย ไม่ควรดำเนินตาม

Word by Word

• सन्ध्यर्थम्: for the sake of twilight (rites)
• सन्ध्यर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन्ध्या + अर्थ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• राजपुत्रम्: a prince
• राजपुत्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• लिप्सेथाः: you should desire/seek to obtain
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• भरतर्षभ: O bull among the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत + ऋषभ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• विपरीतम्: the opposite (course/act)
• विपरीतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपरीत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• चेत्: if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत्

• शेयः: you should lie down/sleep
• Type: Verb
• Root: शी (शे)
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 2nd, Singular, Atmanepada

• पुत्र: O son
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कस्यांचित्: in some (unspecified)
• कस्यांचित्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: क + चित् (कश्चित्)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• आपदि: in calamity/distress
• आपदि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आपद्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

धघतयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• bharatarṣabha (addressee, a Bharata prince)
• rājaputra (a prince)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not pursue a political settlement (saṁdhi) that requires seizing or demanding a prince as a bargaining tool; in times of distress such expedients can become harmful and ethically improper.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra is advising a Bharata prince, warning against a particular kind of crisis-driven diplomacy—seeking a prince ‘for the sake of saṁdhi’—because it may lead to adverse consequences and violate proper conduct.