Shloka 54

हंस–साध्यसंवादः, वाक्-निग्रहः, महाकुल-लक्षणम्, शान्ति-उपायः

Hamsa–Sādhya Dialogue; Restraint of Speech; Marks of Noble Lineage; Means to Peace

Devanagari script

यत्‌ त्वस्य सहजं राजन पितृपैतामहं बलम्‌ । अभिजातबलं नाम तच्चतुर्थ बल॑ स्मृतम्‌

Transliteration

yat tv asya sahajaṃ rājan pitṛpaitāmahaṃ balam | abhijātabalaṃ nāma tac caturthaṃ balaṃ smṛtam ||

Translation

“Nhưng, ôi Đại vương, sức mạnh vốn có nơi một người—do cha và tổ tiên truyền lại, uy lực thừa hưởng của dòng tộc—được gọi là ‘sức mạnh bẩm sinh’ (abhijāta-bala); và được ghi nhớ là loại sức mạnh thứ tư.”

Word by Word

यत्which/that

तुbut/indeed

अस्यof him/this

सहजम्inborn, innate

राजन्O king

पितृof the father

पैतामहम्ancestral (from the grandfather)

बलम्strength, power

अभिजातबलम्noble-born strength (strength due to high birth)

नामby name, called

तत्that

चतुर्थम्fourth

बलम्strength

स्मृतम्is considered/remembered

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

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?

Vidura classifies ‘inborn, ancestral strength’—the power one possesses by birth and lineage—as a distinct category of strength, reminding a ruler to account for inherited advantages and their ethical use in governance and decision-making.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vidura’s counsel to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra during the Udyoga Parva, he is analyzing different sources of power/strength relevant to statecraft and impending conflict, here identifying the fourth as the innate, hereditary strength coming from one’s paternal and ancestral line.