Shloka 35

अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira

Devanagari script

यद्‌ विशस्ता: कुरुश्रेष्ठ राजानश्न॒ सहस्रश:

Transliteration

yad viśastāḥ kuruśreṣṭha rājānaḥ sahasraśaḥ

Translation

噫，库鲁族之最胜者！那些诸王——声名显赫、备受颂扬——成千上万地在场；叙事追忆那浩大的君王集会，指出纵然名望与世间权势何等炽盛，终究仍受时间、义务（达摩）与自身行为之道德果报所制约。

Word by Word

• यत्: which/that (thing)
• यत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• विशस्ताः: praised, renowned
• विशस्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-शंस् (PPP: विशस्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• कुरुश्रेष्ठ: O best of the Kurus
• Type: Noun (vocative epithet)
• Root: कुरु + श्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• राजानः: kings
• राजानः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सहस्रशः: by thousands; in thousands
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस्

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kuru (dynasty/lineage)
• kings (rājānaḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the scale of worldly power and fame—kings in their thousands—while implicitly pointing to the Mahābhārata’s ethical reminder that renown and sovereignty are transient and must be governed by dharma, since actions and their results outlast status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses a Kuru descendant as he continues describing a large gathering or enumeration of rulers: many celebrated kings are being recalled as part of the unfolding account in Āśramavāsika Parva.