śaunaka uvāca hatvā svariktha-spṛdha ātatāyino yudhiṣṭhiro dharma-bhṛtāṁ variṣṭhaḥ sahānujaiḥ pratyavaruddha-bhojanaḥ kathaṁ pravṛttaḥ kim akāraṣīt tataḥ
Synonyms
śaunakaḥ uvāca—Sounaka enquired; hatvā—after killing; svariktha—legal inheritance; spṛdhaḥ—desiring to usurp; ātatāyinaḥ—the aggeressor; yudhiṣṭhiraḥ—the king of the name; dharma-bhṛtām—of those who follow strictly religious principles; variṣṭhaḥ—greatest; saha-anujaiḥ—along with his younger brothers; pratyavaruddha—restricted; bhojanaḥ—acceptance of necessities; katham—how; pravṛttaḥ—engaged; kim—what; akāraṣīt—executed; tataḥ—thereafter.
Translation
Sounaka Muni enquired how Maharaj Yudhisthir the greatest of all men of rligionsity ruled over his subjects assisted by his younger brothers, after killing his enemies who desired to usurp his right ful inheritance although he enjoyed the kingdom with restricted consciousness.
Purport
Maharaj Yudhisthir the greatest of all men of religiosity. As such he was not at all inclined to fight with his cousin brothers for the sake of enjoying the kingdom, he fought for the right cause because the kingdom of Hastinapur was his rightful inheritance and his cousin brothers wanted to usurp it for themselves. He fought therefore, for the right cause under guidance of the Lord Shri-Krishna but he was very sorry to enjoy the result of his victory because his cousin brothers were all killed in the fight. He, there fore, ruled over the kingdom as a matter of duty assisted by his younger brothers. The enquiry was, therefore, salient for the Sounaka Rishi to know about the after behaviour of Maharaj Yudhisthir when he was at ease to enjoy the kingdom.