Shloka 18
अदारा-नीति
Crisis Composure) and ‘Jaya’ Śravaṇa (Morale-Instruction
बुद्धिमान् पुरुष इस जगत्में अत्यन्त अल्पमात्रामें अप्रियकी इच्छा करता है। लोकमें जिसका प्रिय अल्प होता है, उसका अप्रिय भी निश्चय ही अल्प होगा ।। प्रियाभावाच्च पुरुषो नैव प्राप्नोति शोभनम् | ध्रुवं चाभावमभ्येति गत्वा गड़ेव सागरम्
priyābhāvāc ca puruṣo naiva prāpnoti śobhanam | dhruvaṃ cābhāvam abhyeti gatvā gaḍeva sāgaram ||
إذا خلا الرجل من المحبوب والمستحسن، لم ينل في حياته ما هو حقًّا مبارك وجميل. بل إنه يمضي لا محالة إلى الخسران والفراغ—كجدولٍ جرى في مجراه حتى إذا بلغ البحر تلاشى فيه.
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
A life stripped of wholesome ‘priya’—rightly directed affections, aims, and sources of joy—fails to reach ‘śobhana’ (true good/auspiciousness) and instead tends toward ‘abhāva’ (privation). The verse uses a natural simile to stress inevitability: absence of the dear leads to a predictable diminishment of well-being.
In Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled setting, the speaker (identified as ‘the son’) offers reflective instruction on human motivation and outcomes. The verse functions as a moral observation within advisory dialogue: it frames how managing what one seeks as ‘dear’ affects one’s experience of gain, loss, and the quality of life.