Shloka 9

Devanagari script

भ्रातृत्वं त्वं पुरस्कृत्य वरं वरय भारत । यदि तावन्मया क्षुद्रा गत्वा वारणसाह्नयम्‌,“भारत! तुम मुझे अपना बड़ा भाई समझकर कोई वर माँगो। यदि तुम्हारी इच्छा हो कि मैं हस्तिनापुरमें जाकर तुच्छ धृतराष्ट्र-पुत्रोंकी मार डालूँ तो मैं यह भी कर सकता हूँ अथवा यदि तुम चाहो कि मैं पत्थरोंकी वर्षासे सारे नगरको रौंदकर धूलमें मिला दूँ अथवा दुर्योधनको बाँधकर अभी तुम्हारे पास ला दूँ तो यह भी कर सकता हूँ। महाबली वीर! तुम्हारी जो इच्छा हो, वही पूर्ण कर दूँगा"

Transliteration

bhrātṛtvaṃ tvaṃ puraskṛtya varaṃ varaya bhārata | yadi tāvanmayā kṣudrā gatvā vāraṇasāhnayam ||

Translation

毗湿摩波罗耶那说道：“噢，婆罗多啊！且以我等兄弟之情为先，你可择一恩赐。若你愿意，我即刻前往瓦罗那萨诃那耶，诛灭那群卑微的持国之子；或若你意欲，我可以石雨之暴风将整座城邑碾作尘土；又或我可缚住都利约陀那，立刻带到你面前。大力英雄——你所欲者，我必成之。”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'bhrātṛtvam', 'definition': 'brotherhood

• the bond/duty of brothers'}, {'term': 'puraskṛtya', 'definition': 'placing in front

• foregrounding'}, {'term': 'varam', 'definition': 'a boon

• a chosen gift/favor'}, {'term': 'varaya', 'definition': 'choose

• ask for'}, {'term': 'bhārata', 'definition': 'O descendant of Bharata

• a form of address to a Kuru/Pāṇḍava'}, {'term': 'yadi', 'definition': 'if'}, {'term': 'tāvat', 'definition': 'at once

• immediately (contextual)'}, {'term': 'mayā', 'definition': 'by me

• through me'}, {'term': 'kṣudrāḥ', 'definition': 'petty, mean, contemptible (here: as an epithet for opponents)'}, {'term': 'gatvā', 'definition': 'having gone

• going'}, {'term': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra-putrāḥ', 'definition': 'sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra

• the Kauravas'}, {'term': 'Duryodhana', 'definition': 'the eldest Kaurava

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Bhārata (addressee, a Kuru/Pāṇḍava)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra-putras (Kauravas)
• Duryodhana
• Vāraṇasāhṇaya (place)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical tension between capability and restraint: immense power is offered in the name of brotherly duty, but the moral burden lies in choosing a boon that aligns with dharma rather than impulsive vengeance or indiscriminate destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

A powerful ally, speaking through Vaiśampāyana’s narration, urges the addressed Bhārata to ask for any boon on the basis of brotherhood, even offering extreme actions—killing the Kauravas, devastating a city, or capturing Duryodhana and delivering him immediately.