Shloka 4

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच न च किंचिदथोचुस्तं द्विया सन्ना युधिष्ठिरम्‌ । मनोभिरेव कल्याण दध्युस्ते तस्थ धीमत:,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन! युधिष्ठिरके इस प्रकार पूछनेपर सब कौरव लाजके मारे सन्न रह गये, कुछ भी उत्तर न दे सके। उन्होंने मन-ही-मन उन बुद्धिमान्‌ युधिष्ठिरके कल्याणका चिन्तन किया

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | na ca kiñcid athocuḥ taṃ dvijāḥ sannā yudhiṣṭhiram | manobhir eva kalyāṇaṃ dadhyuḥ te tasthuḥ dhīmataḥ ||

Translation

ไวศัมปายนะกล่าวว่า “ครั้นยุธิษฐิระกล่าวดังนั้น เหล่าทวิชผู้ใหญ่ก็อับอายจนเงียบงัน ไม่อาจเอื้อนเอ่ยถ้อยคำใดตอบเขาได้ ยืนอยู่ ณ ที่นั้น พวกเขาได้แต่ปรารถนามงคลแก่ยุธิษฐิระผู้มีปัญญาในดวงใจ”

Word by Word

{'vaiśampāyana uvāca''Vaiśampāyana said', 'na': 'not', 'ca': 'and', 'kiñcit': 'anything

even the least thing', 'atha''then

thereupon', 'ūcuḥ (ocuḥ)''they said

they spoke', 'tam''to him

that (person)', 'dvijāḥ''the twice-born (Brahmins/learned elders)', 'sannāḥ': 'stupefied

benumbed (herefrom shame)', 'yudhiṣṭhiram': 'Yudhiṣṭhira', 'manobhiḥ eva': 'only with their minds

inwardly', 'kalyāṇam''welfare

well-being', 'dadhyuḥ''they contemplated

they wished', 'te''they', 'tasthuḥ': 'they stood

remained', 'dhīmataḥ''of the wise one

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Yudhiṣṭhira

Dvijas (twice-born elders/Brahmins)

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?

When confronted by a righteous question, those who lack a defensible moral position may fall silent; yet even then, the mind can still recognize dharma and wish well to the truly wise. The verse highlights the ethical weight of Yudhiṣṭhira’s integrity and the power of conscience when speech cannot justify wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Yudhiṣṭhira asks/speaks in a manner that exposes the situation’s moral tension, the assembled twice-born elders (dvijas) are overcome with shame and cannot answer him. They remain standing, and inwardly they think of his welfare—an implicit acknowledgment of his wisdom and righteousness.