Shloka 23

कुण्डधारोपाख्यानम्

Kuṇḍadhāra-Upākhyāna: Dharma’s Superiority over Wealth and Desire

Devanagari script

तुलाधारस्य कौन्तेय शान्तिमेवान्वपद्यत | एवं बहुमतार्थ च तुलाधारेण भाषितम्‌ | यथौपम्योपदेशेन कि भूय: श्रोतुमिच्छसि

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | tulādhārasya kaunteya śāntim evānvapadyata | evaṃ bahumatārthaṃ ca tulādhāreṇa bhāṣitam | yathaupamyopadeśena kiṃ bhūyaḥ śrotum icchasi, kuntīnandana ||

Translation

قال بهيشما: «يا ابن كُنتي، لقد نال (جاجَلي) السكينة العظمى باتباع الطريق الذي علّمه تولادھارا. وما نطق به تولادھارا تعليمٌ معناه مُجازٌ عند كثيرين. وقد شُرح على وجهه الصحيح بإرشادٍ مؤيَّدٍ بأمثلةٍ بليغة. والآن، يا ابن كُنتي، ماذا تريد أن تسمع بعدُ؟»

Word by Word

• {'tulādhārasya': 'of Tulādhāra (the merchant/householder teacher named ‘Tulādhāra’)', 'kaunteya': 'O son of Kuntī (address to Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'śāntim': 'peace, tranquility, inner pacification', 'eva': 'indeed, alone/only (emphatic particle)', 'anvapadyata': 'attained, reached, followed and obtained', 'evaṃ': 'thus, in this manner', 'bahumata-arthaṃ': 'having a meaning approved/esteemed by many

• widely accepted import', 'bhāṣitam': 'spoken, stated, taught', 'yathā': 'properly, as it should be', 'aupamya': 'analogy, comparison, illustrative example', 'upadeśena': 'by instruction, through teaching', 'kim bhūyaḥ': 'what more? what further?', 'śrotum icchasi': 'you wish to hear', 'kuntīnandana': 'O delight/son of Kuntī (another address to Yudhiṣṭhira)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Tulādhāra
• Kuntī
• Kaunteya (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Kuntīnandana (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That Tulādhāra’s counsel—presented with clear analogies and carrying a meaning accepted by many—leads the seeker to true inner peace; the emphasis is on practical, widely validated dharma rather than mere austerity or pride.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in the Śānti Parva, concludes the account of Tulādhāra’s instruction (which brought Jājali peace) and asks Yudhiṣṭhira what further teaching he wishes to hear.