Shloka 10

Adhyāya 20 — Rājadharma Argument for Paternal Inheritance and Timely Conciliation

Devanagari script

सभायां क्लेशितैवीरै: सहभार्यैस्तथा भृशम्‌ । अरण्ये विविधा: क्लेशा: सम्प्राप्तास्तै: सुदारुणा:,'पत्नीसहित वीर पाण्डवोंको कौरव-सभामें भारी क्लेश पहुँचाया गया तथा वनमें भी उन्हें नाना प्रकारके भयंकर कष्ट भोगने पड़े

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

sabhāyāṃ kleśitair vīraiḥ saha-bhāryais tathā bhṛśam |

araṇye vividhāḥ kleśāḥ samprāptās taiḥ sudāruṇāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Trong triều hội, những bậc anh hùng ấy, cùng với các phu nhân của mình, đã bị hành hạ vô cùng; và nơi rừng sâu, họ lại phải gánh chịu muôn vàn khổ nạn khắc nghiệt, thảm khốc.”

Word by Word

सभायाम्in the assembly

क्लेशितैःby (those) afflicted/tormented

वीरैःby the heroes

सहtogether with

भार्यैःwith (their) wives

तथाand also/likewise

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

अरण्येin the forest

विविधाःvarious

क्लेशाःafflictions, hardships

सम्प्राप्ताःwere obtained/occurred, befell

तैःto/for them (by them in form)

सुदारुणाःvery dreadful, extremely harsh

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pandavas

their wives

assembly hall (sabhā)

forest (araṇya)

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?

Unjust harm—public humiliation and forced suffering—creates a grave moral debt. Remembering these wrongs frames the later demand for restitution as a dharmic necessity rather than mere vengeance.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator summarizes the Pandavas’ severe afflictions: first in the Kaurava court (the sabhā episode) and then during their forest exile, emphasizing the intensity and variety of their hardships.