Shloka 13

ब्राह्मणानुयात्रा—शौनकोपदेशः

Brāhmaṇas Follow into Exile and Śaunaka’s Instruction

Devanagari script

कथं द्रक्ष्यामि व: सर्वान्‌ स्‍्वयमाहृतभोजनान्‌ । मद्धक्त्या क्लिश्यतो<नर्हान्‌ धिक्‌ पापान्‌ धृतराष्ट्रजान्‌,आप सब लोग स्वयं ही आहार जुटाकर भोजन करें, यह मैं कैसे देख सकूँगा? आपलोग कष्ट भोगनेके योग्य नहीं हैं, तो भी मेरे प्रति स्नेह होनेके कारण इतना क्लेश उठा रहे हैं। धृतराष्ट्रके पापी पुत्रोंको धिकक्‍्कार है

Transliteration

kathaṁ drakṣyāmi vaḥ sarvān svayam āhṛtabhojanān | madbhaktyā kliśyato 'narhān dhik pāpān dhṛtarāṣṭrajān ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira nói: “Làm sao ta có thể chịu nổi khi thấy tất cả các vị phải tự đi kiếm ăn và sống bằng những gì chính tay mình gom góp? Các vị không đáng phải chịu gian khổ; vậy mà vì tình nghĩa với ta, các vị vẫn gánh lấy khốn khó này. Thật đáng hổ thẹn cho những đứa con tội lỗi của Dhṛtarāṣṭra!”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'kathaṁ', 'definition': 'how? in what way?'}, {'term': 'drakṣyāmi', 'definition': 'I shall see

• I can bear to witness'}, {'term': 'vaḥ', 'definition': 'you (plural), of you'}, {'term': 'sarvān', 'definition': 'all (of you)'}, {'term': 'svayam', 'definition': 'by oneself

• personally'}, {'term': 'āhṛta-bhojanān', 'definition': 'those whose food is obtained/collected (by themselves)

• living on self-procured fare'}, {'term': 'mad-bhaktyā', 'definition': 'through devotion/loyalty to me'}, {'term': 'kliśyataḥ', 'definition': 'suffering

• undergoing hardship'}, {'term': 'anarhān', 'definition': 'undeserving (of such suffering)

• not fit for it'}, {'term': 'dhik', 'definition': 'shame! fie! an exclamation of censure'}, {'term': 'pāpān', 'definition': 'sinful

• wicked'}, {'term': 'dhṛtarāṣṭra-jān', 'definition': 'the sons/offspring of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (i.e., the Kauravas)'}]

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Kauravas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s ethical burden includes sensitivity to the suffering of dependents and companions. Yudhiṣṭhira’s grief shows that hardship becomes morally sharper when borne by the undeserving out of loyalty, and it frames injustice as blameworthy (dhik) even when one endures it with restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the forest-exile context, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on the condition of his companions who must gather their own food and endure austerity. He feels responsible for their distress and directs moral condemnation toward Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons, whom he regards as the cause of this unjust suffering.