Shloka 37

Kuberasaras-darśana (Bhīma beholds Kubera’s guarded lotus-lake) / कुबेरसरः-दर्शनम्

Devanagari script

क्षत्रधर्मो5त्र कौन्तेय तव धर्मोउत्र रक्षणम्‌ | स्वधर्म प्रतिपद्यस्व विनीतो नियतेन्द्रिय:,कुन्तीनन्दन! सबकी रक्षा करना क्षत्रियका धर्म है, अतः तुम्हारा धर्म भी यही है। अपने धर्मका पालन करो। विनयशील बने रहो और इन्द्रियोंको वशमें रखो

Transliteration

kṣatradharmo ’tra kaunteya tava dharmo ’tra rakṣaṇam | svadharmaṃ pratipadyasva vinīto niyatendriyaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说：“昆蒂之子啊，此处刹帝利之法在于护佑；因此在此事上，你的本分亦是守护他人。应当归入你自身正当之达摩。保持谦逊与纪律，制御诸根，使其受你统摄。”

Word by Word

क्षत्रधर्मःthe duty of a kshatriya

अत्रhere

कौन्तेयO son of Kunti

तवof you / your

धर्मःduty

उक्तःis said / has been stated

रक्षणम्protection

स्वधर्मम्one's own duty

प्रतिपद्यस्वundertake / follow

विनीतःdisciplined / humble

नियत-इन्द्रियःone whose senses are restrained

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kaunteya (son of Kuntī)

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?

The verse teaches that a kṣatriya’s primary obligation is rakṣaṇa—protecting others—and that one should adhere to one’s svadharma with humility and restraint of the senses, so that power is guided by discipline rather than impulse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, narrating the epic, addresses a son of Kuntī and urges him to act according to kṣatriya duty: to protect and uphold order, while maintaining vinaya (humility) and indriya-nigraha (sense-control) in the given situation.