Shloka 13

Devanagari script

दृष्टवा तु पतितं पद्भ्यां धर्मराजो युधिष्ठिर: । धनंजयममित्रघ्नं रुदन्तं भरतर्षभ,भरतश्रेष्ठ! धर्मराज युधिष्छिरने शत्रुसूदन, भाई धनंजयको अपने चरणोंपर गिरकर रोते देख बड़े स्नेहसे उठाकर हृदयसे लगा लिया। फिर वे भूपाल धर्मराज भी फूट-फूटकर रोने लगे

Transliteration

dṛṣṭvā tu patitaṃ padbhyāṃ dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | dhanañjayam amitraghnaṃ rudantaṃ bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：见到诛敌者檀那阇耶（阿周那）伏倒在自己足下痛哭，持守达摩的尤提湿提罗王以深情将他扶起，紧紧拥入怀中。亲缘之重与战争之祸压在心头，那位正义之王也终于失声痛哭。

Word by Word

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

तुbut/indeed

पतितम्fallen (one)

पद्भ्याम्by/at (his) two feet

धर्मराजःKing of Dharma (Yudhiṣṭhira)

युधिष्ठिरःYudhiṣṭhira

धनंजयम्Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

अमित्रघ्नम्slayer of foes

रुदन्तम्weeping

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

भरतश्रेष्ठO best of the Bharatas

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja)

Arjuna (Dhanañjaya, Amitraghna)

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by the vocative bharatarṣabha)

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?

Even amid the harsh demands of kṣatriya warfare, dharma is not mere severity; it includes compassion and responsibility toward one’s own. Yudhiṣṭhira’s response shows that righteous leadership holds space for grief and tenderness, not only strategy and victory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna, overwhelmed, falls at Yudhiṣṭhira’s feet and weeps. Yudhiṣṭhira lifts him up and embraces him, and then the normally composed Dharmarāja himself breaks down in tears—signaling the emotional cost of the battle and the deep bond between the brothers.