Shloka 5

Nārada’s Exempla of Tapas and Assurance to Dhṛtarāṣṭra (नारदोपदेशः—तपःसिद्ध्युदाहरणम्)

Devanagari script

व्यतीतायां तु शर्वर्या कृतपौर्वाल्निकक्रिय: । भ्रातृभि: सहितो राजा ददर्शाश्रममण्डलम्‌

Transliteration

vyatītāyāṁ tu śarvaryā kṛta-paurvāhṇika-kriyaḥ | bhrātṛbhiḥ sahito rājā dadarśāśrama-maṇḍalam ||

Translation

夜尽之后，国王——完成了惯常的晨间仪轨——与诸弟同行，观览诸修行者的林庵境域。此景昭示日常戒行之严整与对苦行生活的恭敬相接：在战争浩劫之后，君主转而归向克制、敬畏与合乎法（dharma）的秩序。

Word by Word

• {'vyatītāyām': 'when (it) had passed

• after the lapse (locative absolute)', 'śarvaryām': 'night', 'tu': 'indeed

• then', 'kṛta': 'done

• performed', 'paurvāhṇika-kriyāḥ': 'morning duties/rites (daily observances such as purification, prayers, offerings)', 'bhrātṛbhiḥ': 'with (his) brothers (instrumental plural)', 'sahitaḥ': 'accompanied

• together with', 'rājā': 'the king', 'dadarśa': 'saw

• beheld', 'āśrama': 'hermitage

• ascetic dwelling', 'maṇḍala': 'circle

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• the king (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• brothers (Pāṇḍavas)
• āśrama-maṇḍala (hermitage precincts)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic discipline: even a king begins the day with prescribed morning observances, showing that righteous rule is grounded in self-regulation and respect for sacred practice, especially in a post-war setting.

What is happening in the narrative?

After night ends, the king completes his morning rituals and, accompanied by his brothers, goes around and views the hermitage precincts—signaling a turn toward the forest-ascetic milieu central to the Āśramavāsika narrative.