Shanti Parva Adhyaya 38 Shloka 9 - Mahabharata | Chinese | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 9

शान्ति पर्व (अध्याय 38): युधिष्ठिरस्य राजधर्म-जिज्ञासा तथा भीष्मोपसर्पण-प्रस्तावना | Shanti Parva Chapter 38: Yudhishthira’s Inquiry into Rajadharma and the Prelude to Approaching Bhishma

Devanagari script

ततः प्रकृतय: सर्वा: पौरा जानपदास्तदा । ऊचु: कर्णसुखा वाच: समुपेत्य ततस्ततः

Transliteration

tataḥ prakṛtayaḥ sarvāḥ paurā jānapadās tadā | ūcuḥ karṇasukhā vācaḥ samupetya tatastataḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：随后，国中诸要员——城中之民与乡里之众——从四方汇集而来，纷纷上前，说出悦耳动听的话语。

Word by Word

ततःthen/thereafter

प्रकृतयःthe leading subjects/constituents (of the state)

सर्वाःall

पौराःtownsmen/citizens

जानपदाःcountryfolk/people of the districts

तदाat that time

ऊचुःsaid/spoke

कर्णसुखाःpleasing to the ear

वाचःwords/speeches

समुपेत्यhaving approached

ततःfrom there/thereafter

ततःfrom various places (here and there)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

prakṛtayaḥ (constituents of the realm)

paurāḥ (townspeople)

jānapadāḥ (provincial people)

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?

A stable polity depends not only on the king but also on the cooperation of the realm’s ‘prakṛtis’—civic and provincial bodies—who support governance through timely assembly, respectful approach, and speech that sustains harmony and confidence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Various groups representing the kingdom—citizens and provincial inhabitants (and by implication officials among the prakṛtis)—gather from different places and address the central figure with agreeable, reassuring words, indicating collective participation and endorsement in a political moment.