Shloka 28

Vyāsa’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira: Pratismṛti-vidyā, Arjuna’s Aśtra-Quest, and the Move to Kāmyaka

Devanagari script

नूनं ते भ्रातर: सर्वे त्वत्कथाभि: प्रजागरे,वीरवर! निश्चय ही आपके चले जानेके बाद आपके सभी भाई जागते समय आपहीके पराक्रमकी चर्चा बार-बार करते हुए अपना मन बहलायेंगे। पार्थ! दीर्घकालके लिये आपके प्रवासी हो जानेपर हमारा मन न तो भोगोंमें लगेगा और न धनमें ही। इस जीवनमें भी कोई रस नहीं रह जायगा। आपके बिना हम इन वस्तुओंसे संतोष नहीं पा सकेंगे। पार्थ! हम सबके सुख-दुःख, जीवन-मरण तथा राज्य-ऐश्वर्य आपपर ही निर्भर हैं। भरतकुलतिलक! कुन्तीकुमार! मैंने आपको विदा दी; आप कल्याणको प्राप्त हों

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | nūnaṃ te bhrātaraḥ sarve tvat-kathābhiḥ prajāgare, vīravara! niścayaṃ hi tvad-gamanaṃ kṛtvā te sarve bhrātaraḥ jāgaritāḥ santaḥ punaḥ punaḥ tava parākramam eva kathayiṣyanti manasā ca vinodayiṣyanti | pārtha! dīrgha-kālaṃ tava pravāsaṃ gate 'smākaṃ mano na bhogeṣu na ca dhaneṣu lapiṣyate; asmin jīvite 'pi na kaścid rasaḥ śeṣyate | tvayā vinā vayam etābhiḥ vastubhiḥ santoṣaṃ na prāpsyāmaḥ | pārtha! asmākaṃ sarveṣāṃ sukha-duḥkhe jīvana-maraṇe rājya-aiśvarye ca tvayi eva āyatte | bharata-kula-tilaka! kuntī-kumāra! mayā tvam visṛṣṭaḥ; kalyāṇaṃ prāpnuhi ||

Translation

毗舍波衍那曰：“诚然，你的诸位兄弟——英雄之最——在你离去之后，必于清醒之时反复谈论你，一再追述你的勇武，以此安定并慰藉其心。噢，帕尔塔，当你远赴长久流放，我们的心将不再乐于享受，也不再恋于财富；连生命本身也似失其滋味。没有你，我们对这一切都无法满足。因为我们众人的悲欢、生死，以及王家之福祚与主权，皆唯系于你一身。噢，婆罗多族之华饰，昆蒂之子，我已准你启程——去吧，愿你得安泰。”

Word by Word

नूनम्surely, indeed

तेof you, your

भ्रातरःbrothers

सर्वेall

त्वत्-कथाभिःby/with talk about you

प्रजागरेin wakefulness, while awake

वीरवरO best of heroes

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Arjuna (Pārtha, Kuntī-kumāra)

Arjuna's brothers (the Pāṇḍavas collectively)

Bharata lineage (Bharata-kula)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage underscores the ethical weight of kinship and duty: a hero’s presence sustains not merely material success but the morale and stability of the family. It also implies that pleasures and wealth are secondary when dharma-bound relationships and shared responsibility are strained by exile.

What is happening in the narrative?

A narrator reports words addressed to Arjuna as he departs for a long exile. The speaker predicts that Arjuna’s brothers will stay awake speaking of his valor, and declares that their joy, contentment, and even royal fortune feel dependent on him, before formally granting him leave and wishing him auspiciousness.