Shloka 15

Drupada’s Instruction to the Purohita for the Kaurava Embassy (द्रुपदोपदेशः दूतप्रेषणम्)

Devanagari script

कृपालुषु परिक्लेशान्‌ पाण्डवीयान्‌ प्रकीर्तयन्‌ । वृद्धेषु कुलधर्म च ब्रुवन्‌ पूर्वरनुछितम्‌

Transliteration

kṛpāluṣu parikleśān pāṇḍavīyān prakīrtayan | vṛddheṣu kuladharmaṃ ca bruvan pūrvaranucitam ||

Translation

德鲁帕陀开口，追述般度五子所忍受的艰辛——他们本是心怀慈悯之人——又在长老面前，依照自古相传的做法，陈说宗族之责与家法之义。如此，他将当下的危局置于祖制规范之中，并以长辈与传统的道德权威作为行动的伦理依据。

Word by Word

• कृपालुषु: among the compassionate (ones)
• कृपालुषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृपालु
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• परिक्लेशान्: afflictions, hardships
• परिक्लेशान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिक्लेश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• पाण्डवीयान्: belonging to the Pāṇḍavas
• पाण्डवीयान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाण्डवीय
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• प्रकीर्तयन्: recounting, proclaiming
• प्रकीर्तयन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कीर्त्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वृद्धेषु: among the elders
• वृद्धेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• कुलधर्मम्: the family-duty, ancestral custom
• कुलधर्मम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुलधर्म
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• ब्रुवन्: saying, speaking
• ब्रुवन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पूर्वम्: formerly, earlier
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व

• अनुचितम्: improper (thing/act)
• अनुचितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुचित
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

दुपद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Drupada
• Pāṇḍavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ethical persuasion should be grounded in compassion for the afflicted and in kuladharma—appealing to elders and ancestral precedent to guide present decisions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Drupada is speaking in the political-ethical deliberations of the Udyoga Parva, describing the Pāṇḍavas’ sufferings and urging the elders to consider traditional family duty and long-established propriety.