Shloka 9
कुरुवंशप्रश्नः—दुःषन्तस्य राजधर्मवर्णनम्
Kuru Lineage Inquiry and the Portrait of King Duḥṣanta’s Rule
कथं धर्मभृतां श्रेष्ठ: सुतो धर्मस्य धर्मवित् । अनर्ह: परमं क्लेशं सोढवान् स युधिषछ्िर:,धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिर धर्मके ज्ञाता थे, महान् क्लेशमें पड़नेयोग्य कदापि नहीं थे, तो भी उन्होंने वह सब कैसे सहन कर लिया?
Janamejaya uvāca |
kathaṁ dharmabhṛtāṁ śreṣṭhaḥ suto dharmasya dharmavit |
anarhaḥ paramaṁ kleśaṁ soḍhavān sa yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
Sinabi ni Janamejaya: “Paano nakayanan ni Yudhiṣṭhira—ang pinakadakila sa mga tagapagtaguyod ng dharma, anak mismo ni Dharma, at nakaaalam ng katuwiran—ang sukdulang pagdurusa, gayong hindi siya karapat-dapat sa gayong paghihirap?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a classic dharma-question: why do the most righteous sometimes face extreme suffering? It highlights the tension between moral worth (an-arhatva, ‘undeserving’) and lived experience (kleśa), inviting reflection on endurance, the complexity of karma and circumstance, and the ethical stature shown in how one bears adversity.
King Janamejaya, listening to the Mahābhārata account, asks how Yudhiṣṭhira—renowned as Dharmarāja and son of the deity Dharma—could have endured such great troubles despite being supremely virtuous. The question sets up an explanation of the causes and context of the Pāṇḍavas’ hardships.