Shloka 11
Bhārata-varṣa-varṇana
Description of Bhārata: Mountains, Rivers, and Janapadas
वरार्हा युधि जायन्ते क्षत्रिया: शूरसत्तमा: । त्रेतायां क्षत्रिया राजन् सर्वे वै चक्रवर्तिन:
sañjaya uvāca | varārhā yudhi jāyante kṣatriyāḥ śūrasattamāḥ | tretāyāṃ kṣatriyā rājan sarve vai cakravartinaḥ |
Wika ni Sañjaya: “O Hari, sa digmaan ay isinisilang ang pinakadakilang mga bayani—mga kṣatriya na karapat-dapat sa biyaya at dangal. At sa Tretā Yuga, O Hari, ang mga kṣatriya ay pawang tunay na cakravartin, mga haring namamayani sa buong daigdig.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links true kṣatriya excellence with worthiness for honor and responsibility: the highest warriors are those fit to receive boons and to uphold order. By invoking the Tretā age of cakravartins, it contrasts an idealized past of righteous, capable rulers with the present decline, implying that power should be guided by dharma.
Sañjaya, reporting to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes the qualities and stature of kṣatriyas across ages. He praises the archetype of heroic warriors and notes that in the Tretā-yuga kṣatriyas were universal sovereigns, setting a moral-historical frame for the impending Kurukṣetra war.