Shloka 31

उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ९३: कृष्णस्य धृतराष्ट्रोपदेशः

Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel to Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the Assembly

Devanagari script

आसाद्य तु सभाद्वारमृषभ: सर्वसात्वताम्‌ | अवतीर्य रथाच्छौरि: कैलासशिखरोपमात्‌

Transliteration

āsādya tu sabhādvāram ṛṣabhaḥ sarvasātvatām | avatīrya rathāc chauriḥ kailāsaśikharopamāt ||

Translation

Nang marating ang pintuan ng bulwagan, si Śauri—ang pinakadakila sa lahat ng Sātvata—ay bumaba mula sa kanyang karwahe, na inihalintulad sa tuktok ng Bundok Kailāsa. Ipinakikita ng tagpong ito ang marangal na pagpipigil at sinadyang pag-iingat sa mahalagang sandaling pampolitika: kahit ang may sukdulang lakas ay lumalapit sa hukuman nang may wastong asal, hindi sa dahas.

Word by Word

आसाद्यhaving reached/approached

तुbut/indeed

सभाद्वारम्the door/entrance of the assembly-hall

ऋषभःthe bull; the foremost

सर्वसात्वताम्of all the Sātvatas (Vrishnis/Yādavas)

अवतीर्यhaving descended/alighted

रथात्from the chariot

शौरिःŚauri (Krishna)

कैलासशिखरोपमात्from (something) like the peak of Kailāsa

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śauri (Kṛṣṇa)

Sabhā (assembly hall)

Sabhādvāra (door of the assembly hall)

Ratha (chariot)

Kailāsa (Mount Kailāsa)

Sātvatas (Sātvata/Vṛṣṇi clan)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined, dharmic comportment in public and political spaces: even the most powerful figure approaches the assembly with humility and propriety, signaling respect for institutions and a preference for counsel over coercion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Śauri (Kṛṣṇa), described as the foremost among the Sātvatas, arrives at the entrance of the assembly hall and steps down from his magnificent chariot, compared in grandeur to the peak of Mount Kailāsa.