Shloka 6

Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti

Devanagari script

तुल्यपाणिभुजग्रीवस्तुल्यबुद्धीन्द्रियात्मक: । तुल्यदुः:खसुखात्मा च तुल्यपृष्ठमुखोदर:,जिसे हम राजा कहते हैं, वह सभी गुणोंमें दूसरोंके समान ही है। उसके हाथ, बाँह और गर्दन भी औरोंकी ही भाँति हैं। बुद्धि और इन्द्रियाँ भी दूसरे लोगोंके ही तुल्य हैं। उसके मनमें भी दूसरे मनुष्योंके समान ही सुख-दुःखका अनुभव होता है। मुँह, पेट, पीठ, वीर्य, हड्डी, मज्जा, मांस, रक्त, उच्छवास, निःश्वास, प्राण, शरीर, जन्म और मरण आदि सभी बातें राजामें भी दूसरोंके समान ही हैं। फिर वह विशिष्ट बुद्धि रखनेवाले अनेक शूरवीरोंपर अकेला ही कैसे अपना प्रभुत्व स्थापित कर लेता है?

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | tulyapāṇibhujagrīvas tulyabuddhīndriyātmakaḥ | tulyaduḥkhasukhātmā ca tulyapṛṣṭhamukhodaraḥ ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Tay, cánh tay và cổ của một vị vua cũng như người thường; trí tuệ và các giác quan cũng vậy. Nhà vua cũng nếm trải vui buồn như bao người, lưng, mặt và bụng chẳng khác chi. Nếu về thân thể và cảm thọ nội tâm đều ngang bằng với kẻ khác, thì vì sao chỉ một người—đơn độc—lại có thể lập quyền uy trên nhiều dũng sĩ vốn có trí tuệ và dũng lực xuất chúng?”

Word by Word

तुल्यपाणिभुजग्रीवःhaving hands, arms, and neck like (others)

तुल्यबुद्धीन्द्रियात्मकःwhose intellect and senses are like (others')

तुल्यदुःखसुखात्माwhose experience of sorrow and happiness is like (others')

चand

तुल्यपृष्ठमुखोदरःhaving back, face, and belly like (others)

Speaker

युधिछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

king (rājā)

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 frames a moral-political problem: since a king is physically and psychologically the same as other humans, his right to rule cannot rest on mere bodily superiority. Legitimate sovereignty must be grounded in dharma—ethical conduct, protection of subjects, self-restraint, and the social recognition of authority—rather than in natural difference.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on governance and dharma after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira raises a probing question about the basis of royal power: how can one ordinary human being command and control many capable warriors and people, if he is essentially like them?