Shloka 3

Adhyāya 20 — Rājadharma Argument for Paternal Inheritance and Timely Conciliation

Devanagari script

सर्वेर्भवद्धिर्विदितो राजधर्म: सनातन: । वाक्योपादानहेतोस्तु वक्ष्यामि विदिते सति,“आप सब लोग सनातन राजधर्मको अच्छी तरह जानते हैं। जाननेपर भी स्वयं इसलिये कुछ कह रहा हूँ कि अन्तमें कुछ आपलोगोंके मुखसे भी सुननेका अवसर मिले

Transliteration

sarvair bhavadbhir vidito rājadharmaḥ sanātanaḥ | vākyopādāna-hetos tu vakṣyāmi vidite sati |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Tất cả các ngài đều đã biết rõ đạo lý muôn đời của vương pháp. Nhưng dẫu đã biết, ta vẫn xin nói—để đến cuối cùng, cũng có dịp được nghe chính từ miệng các ngài, như một nền tảng đã được xác nhận cho điều sẽ được bàn và quyết.”

Word by Word

सर्वैःby all

भवद्भिःby you (honorific, plural)

विदितःknown

राजधर्मःthe duty/law of kingship

सनातनःeternal, ancient

वाक्योपादानहेतोःfor the sake of obtaining (your) words/statement

तुbut, however

वक्ष्यामिI will say

विदितेwhen (it is) known / though known

सतिbeing (so); in the circumstance of

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when a moral principle is already known (here, the perennial rājadharma), it should be restated in council so that decisions rest on explicitly affirmed dharma and shared accountability, not merely private understanding.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator-speaker (Vaiśaṃpāyana) signals that the assembly already understands the eternal duties of kings, yet he will articulate them anyway to establish a clear verbal foundation and to elicit confirmation from the listeners during deliberation.