Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 1.10.1

saunaka uvaca

hatva svariktha-spridha atatayino

yudhishthiro dharma-bhritam varishthah

sahanujaih pratyavaruddha-bhojanah

katham pravrittah kim akarashit tatah

SYNONYMS

saunakah uvaca -- Saunaka inquired; hatva -- after killing; svariktha -- the legal inheritance; spridhah -- desiring to usurp; atatayinah -- the aggressor; yudhishthirah -- King Yudhishthira; dharma-bhritam -- of those who strictly follow religious principles; varishthah -- greatest; saha-anujaih -- with his younger brothers; pratyavaruddha -- restricted; bhojanah -- acceptance of necessities; katham -- how; pravrittah -- engaged; kim -- what; akarashit -- executed; tatah -- thereafter.

TRANSLATION

Saunaka Muni asked: After killing his enemies who desired to usurp his rightful inheritance, how did the greatest of all religious men, Maharaja Yudhishthira, assisted by his brothers, rule his subjects? Surely he could not freely enjoy his kingdom with unrestricted consciousness.

PURPORT

Maharaja Yudhishthira was the greatest of all men of religion. Thus he was not at all inclined to fight with his cousins for the sake of enjoying the kingdom: he fought for the right cause because the kingdom of Hastinapura was his rightful inheritance and his cousins wanted to usurp it for themselves. He fought, therefore, for the right cause under the guidance of Lord Sri Krishna, but he could not enjoy the results of his victory because his cousins were all killed in the fight. He therefore ruled over the kingdom as a matter of duty, assisted by his younger brothers. The inquiry was important for Saunaka Rishi, who wanted to know about the behavior of Maharaja Yudhishthira when he was at ease to enjoy the kingdom.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness