Shloka 12
धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति व्यवहार-रक्षा-नियमनोपदेशः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Instruction on Administration, Punishment, and Daily Governance
योडसौ पृथिव्या: कृत्स्नाया भर्ता भूत्वा नराधिप:
yo 'sau pṛthivyāḥ kṛtsnāyā bhartā bhūtvā narādhipaḥ
وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا— “وہ جو پوری زمین کا نگہبان و سرپرست بن کر انسانوں میں بادشاہ ہوا تھا—…”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line foregrounds the ideal of kingship as bhartṛtva—sustaining and protecting the whole realm—setting up the ethical contrast central to Āśramavāsika: even the one who once bore the burden of the entire earth must face decline, loss, and the turn toward withdrawal and spiritual priorities.
Vaiśampāyana introduces a prominent ruler by recalling his former status as the protector of the whole earth; the verse functions as a descriptive lead-in to the ensuing account of that king’s later condition and actions in the forest-dwelling context of the parva.