Shloka 5
कुरुवंशप्रश्नः—दुःषन्तस्य राजधर्मवर्णनम्
Kuru Lineage Inquiry and the Portrait of King Duḥṣanta’s Rule
किमर्थ ते नरव्याप्रा: शक्ता: सन््तो हनागस: । प्रयुज्यमानान् संक्लेशान् क्षान्तवन्तो दुरात्मनाम्,नरश्रेष्ठ पाण्डव शक्तिशाली और निरपराध थे तो भी उन्होंने दुरात्मा कौरवोंके दिये हुए महान् क्लेशोंको कैसे चुपचाप सहन कर लिया?
janamejaya uvāca |
kimartha te naravyāprāḥ śaktāḥ santo hanāgasaḥ |
prayujyamānān saṅkleśān kṣāntavanto durātmanām ||
Tinanong ni Janamejaya: “Sa anong dahilan nagtiis nang may pagtitimpi ang mga Pandava—mga lalaking may dakilang kakayahan, makapangyarihan ngunit walang sala—sa mabibigat na paghihirap na ipinataw sa kanila ng masasamang Kaurava? Bakit nila dinala iyon nang tahimik?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension between strength and restraint: even the powerful and innocent may choose forbearance (kṣamā) when guided by dharma, long-term purpose, and respect for social order, rather than reacting immediately to wrongdoing.
King Janamejaya, listening to the Mahābhārata account, asks why the Pāṇḍavas—despite their strength and blamelessness—tolerated the severe troubles inflicted by the wicked Kauravas, seeking the deeper reason behind their patience.