Shloka 47
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas
औरसो भवतः: पुत्रो युयुत्सुर्न॒पसत्तम । अस्तु राजा महाराज यमन्यं मन्यते भवान्
auraso bhavataḥ putro yuyutsur nṛpasattama | astu rājā mahārāja yaman yaṃ manyate bhavān || nṛpaśreṣṭhī mahārāja! yuyutsu āpake aurasa putra haiṃ; ye hī rājā hoṃ athavā aur kisī ko jise āpa ucita samajhte hoṃ, rājā banā deṃ yā svayaṃ hī is rājyakā śāsana kareṃ | ahaṃ hī vanako calā jāūṃga | pitājī! ahaṃ pahlese hī apayaśakī āgameṃ jal cukā hūṃ, ab punaḥ āpa bhī mujhe na jalāiye |
Yudhiṣṭhira nói: “Hỡi bậc vương giả tối thượng, Yuyutsu là con ruột của ngài. Xin để người ấy làm vua, muôn tâu Đại vương—hoặc ngài hãy lập bất cứ ai mà ngài cho là xứng đáng, hay chính ngài tự trị vì vương quốc. Còn ta, ta sẽ vào rừng. Cha ơi, ta đã bị lửa ô danh thiêu đốt rồi; xin đừng thiêu ta thêm lần nữa.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical kingship and humility: Yudhiṣṭhira, burdened by the moral weight of the war and its aftermath, offers the throne to an alternative heir (Yuyutsu) or to whomever the elder deems fit, choosing personal renunciation over power. It frames rulership as a duty to be assigned by rightful authority, not seized for self-interest.
In the Āśramavāsika context, after the devastation of the war, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks to the elder king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), proposing that Yuyutsu—Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s own son—should rule, or that Dhṛtarāṣṭra may appoint another or rule himself. Yudhiṣṭhira declares his intention to depart for the forest, expressing that he is already consumed by shame and does not wish further reproach.