Shloka 31

उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ९३: कृष्णस्य धृतराष्ट्रोपदेशः

Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel to Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the Assembly

Devanagari script

आसाद्य तु सभाद्वारमृषभ: सर्वसात्वताम्‌ | अवतीर्य रथाच्छौरि: कैलासशिखरोपमात्‌

Transliteration

āsādya tu sabhādvāram ṛṣabhaḥ sarvasātvatām | avatīrya rathāc chauriḥ kailāsaśikharopamāt ||

Translation

抵达王家议事大殿门前，绍利——萨特瓦塔族中最卓绝者——从其战车上步下；那车被比作凯拉萨山之巅。此景凸显在关键政局中的庄严克制与审慎举止：纵有无上威力，他仍以礼入朝，不以武逼。

Word by Word

• आसाद्य: having reached/approached
• आसाद्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√सद्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• सभाद्वारम्: the door/entrance of the assembly-hall
• सभाद्वारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सभा-द्वार
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ऋषभः: the bull; the foremost
• ऋषभः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वसात्वताम्: of all the Sātvatas (Vrishnis/Yādavas)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व-सात्वत
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अवतीर्य: having descended/alighted
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-√तॄ
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• रथात्: from the chariot
• रथात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• शौरिः: Śauri (Krishna)
• शौरिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शौरि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कैलासशिखरोपमात्: from (something) like the peak of Kailāsa
• कैलासशिखरोपमात्: Apadana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कैलास-शिखर-उपम
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Ablative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śauri (Kṛṣṇa)
• Sabhā (assembly hall)
• Sabhādvāra (door of the assembly hall)
• Ratha (chariot)
• Kailāsa (Mount Kailāsa)
• Sātvatas (Sātvata/Vṛṣṇi clan)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined, dharmic comportment in public and political spaces: even the most powerful figure approaches the assembly with humility and propriety, signaling respect for institutions and a preference for counsel over coercion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Śauri (Kṛṣṇa), described as the foremost among the Sātvatas, arrives at the entrance of the assembly hall and steps down from his magnificent chariot, compared in grandeur to the peak of Mount Kailāsa.