Shloka 20

राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)

Devanagari script

आर्जवं सर्वकार्येषु श्रयेथा: कुरुनन्दन । पुनर्नयविचारेण त्रयीसंवरणेन च

Transliteration

ārjavaṁ sarvakāryeṣu śrayethāḥ kurunandana | punarnayavicāreṇa trayīsaṁvaraṇena ca ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi niềm vui của dòng Kuru, trong mọi việc hãy nương tựa vào sự ngay thẳng; và hơn nữa, hãy tự trị mình bằng sự suy xét cẩn trọng về chính sách đúng đắn, cùng sự tiết chế theo kỷ luật Veda ba phần.”

Word by Word

• आर्जवम्: straightforwardness, rectitude
• आर्जवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आर्जव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सर्वकार्येषु: in all actions/undertakings
• सर्वकार्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व-कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• श्रयेथाः: you should resort to / take refuge in / adopt
• श्रयेथाः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रि (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (Vidhi-lin), Second, Singular, Ātmanepada

• कुरुनन्दन: O delight of the Kurus
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु-नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पुनः: again; further
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

• नयविचारेण: by consideration of policy/prudence
• नयविचारेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नय-विचार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• त्रयीसंवरणेन: by the threefold restraint/covering (i.e., restraint in three ways)
• त्रयीसंवरणेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रयी-संवरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kurunandana (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma urges the king to ground all conduct in ārjava (honest, straight dealing), and to pair that moral clarity with thoughtful naya (prudent governance) and disciplined restraint shaped by Vedic norms—ethics plus deliberative policy plus self-control.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and royal conduct after the war. Here he gives a concise directive: rule and act with integrity, reflect carefully on policy, and maintain restraint in accordance with sacred learning.