Shloka 19
अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira
“राजन! आप जब हमें त्याग देंगे, हमें छोड़कर चले जायँगे, तब हम बहुत दिनोंतक दुःख और शोकमें डूबे रहेंगे। आपके सैकड़ों गुणोंकी याद सदा हमें घेरे रहेगी ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
"rājan! āpa jaba hameṃ tyāga deṅge, hameṃ choṛakara cale jāyaṅge, taba vayaṃ bahu-dināni duḥkha-śoka-nimagnā bhaviṣyāmaḥ | tava śataśo guṇānāṃ smṛtiḥ sadā asmān pariveṣṭayiṣyati ||
yathā śāntanunā guptā rājñā citrāṅgadēna ca |
bhīṣma-vīryopagūḍhena pitrā tava ca pārthiva |
"pṛthvīnātha! mahārāja śāntanu tathā rājā citrāṅgada yena prakāreṇa asmān arakṣatām, bhīṣmasya parākramena surakṣitaḥ tava pitā vicitravīryaḥ yena prakāreṇa asmān apālayat, tathā tava paricaryāyāṃ sthitvā pṛthvīpatiḥ pāṇḍuḥ yena prakāreṇa prajāḥ arakṣat—tathā eva rājā duryodhanaḥ api asmān yathāvat apālayat" ||
毗湿摩波耶那说道：“大王啊！当你弃我们而去、远行离别之时，我们将长久沉没在悲伤与哀痛之中。对你无量德行的追忆，将时时环绕着我们。 正如圣多奴王与质多昂伽陀王曾护佑我们；正如你的父王毗质多罗毗梨耶在毗湿摩的威勇护持下抚养我们；又正如大地之主般度在你的照拂之下守护百姓——同样，杜罗约陀那王也曾按其本分，供养并照看我们。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights rājadharma: a ruler’s foremost ethical duty is the proper protection and maintenance of dependents and subjects. It also underscores gratitude and moral memory—virtues of a leader continue to guide and console (or haunt) the community even after the leader’s departure.
A speaker, reported by Vaiśampāyana, addresses a king who is about to leave. The speaker expresses impending sorrow and then situates the king within a lineage of protectors—Śāntanu, Citrāṅgada, Vicitravīrya (secured by Bhīṣma), and Pāṇḍu—adding that Duryodhana too, in his time, maintained them properly. The passage functions as a remembrance of past guardianship and a lament at separation.