Shloka 31

शान्ति पर्व (अध्याय 38): युधिष्ठिरस्य राजधर्म-जिज्ञासा तथा भीष्मोपसर्पण-प्रस्तावना | Shanti Parva Chapter 38: Yudhishthira’s Inquiry into Rajadharma and the Prelude to Approaching Bhishma

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच ततो राजन ब्राह्मणास्ते सर्व एव विशाम्पते । ऊचुर्नैतद्‌ वचो<स्माकं श्रीरस्तु तव पार्थिव

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | tato rājan brāhmaṇās te sarva eva viśāmpate | ūcur naitad vaco 'smākaṃ śrīr astu tava pārthiva ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Bấy giờ, hỡi Đại vương, bậc chúa tể muôn dân, tất cả các brāhmaṇa đều lên tiếng: “Lời ấy không phải của chúng ta. Trái lại, hỡi bậc quân vương của cõi đất, chúng ta ban lời chúc phúc này—nguyện vương phúc và thịnh vượng hoàng gia mãi ở cùng ngài.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tataḥ', 'definition': 'then

• thereafter'}, {'term': 'rājan', 'definition': 'O king (vocative of rājan)'}, {'term': 'brāhmaṇāḥ', 'definition': 'brāhmaṇas

• members of the priestly/learned class'}, {'term': 'te', 'definition': 'those

• they'}, {'term': 'sarva eva', 'definition': 'all indeed

• every one of them'}, {'term': 'viśāmpate', 'definition': 'O lord of the people/subjects (epithet of a king)'}, {'term': 'ūcuḥ', 'definition': 'they said

• they spoke (perfect of √vac)'}, {'term': 'na etat', 'definition': 'not this'}, {'term': 'vacaḥ', 'definition': 'speech

• utterance'}, {'term': 'asmākam', 'definition': 'of us

• our'}, {'term': 'śrīḥ', 'definition': 'fortune

• royal splendor (Śrī/Lakṣmī)'}, {'term': 'astu', 'definition': 'let it be

• may it be (imperative/benedictive of √as)'}, {'term': 'tava', 'definition': 'your

• of you'}, {'term': 'pārthiva', 'definition': 'O earthly ruler

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• the King (rājan/pārthiva/viśāmpati)
• Brāhmaṇas
• Śrī (royal fortune/prosperity)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical weight of speech and collective responsibility: the brāhmaṇas publicly disown a statement not attributable to them and instead offer an auspicious benediction, reinforcing that counsel to a king should be truthful, owned, and oriented toward welfare and stability (śrī).

What is happening in the narrative?

After hearing a remark attributed to them, the assembled brāhmaṇas address the king and clarify that the words are not theirs; they then bless him, saying that royal fortune/prosperity should remain with him.