Shloka 21

Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)

Devanagari script

अर्थमर्थनुबन्धं च धर्म धर्मानुबन्धनम्‌ | काम कामानुबन्धं च विपरीतान्‌ पृथक्‌ पृथक्‌

Transliteration

artham arthanubandhaṁ ca dharmaṁ dharmānubandhanam | kāmaṁ kāmānubandhaṁ ca viparītān pṛthak pṛthak

Translation

„(Man soll erkennen) Artha samt den Folgen, die aus Artha erwachsen; Dharma samt den Folgen, die aus Dharma erwachsen; und Kāma samt den Folgen, die aus Kāma erwachsen—und auch ihre Gegensätze—jedes für sich, klar unterschieden.“

Word by Word

अर्थम्wealth/interest (object)

अर्थानुबन्धम्that which is connected with wealth (its consequence/appendage)

चand

धर्मम्dharma/duty (object)

धर्मानुबन्धनम्that which is connected with dharma (its consequence/appendage)

कामम्desire/pleasure (object)

कामानुबन्धम्that which is connected with desire (its consequence/appendage)

चand

विपरीतान्opposites/contraries

पृथक्separately

पृथक्each separately

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches ethical discernment: evaluate artha (material gain), dharma (righteous duty), and kāma (desire) together with their inevitable consequences, and also recognize their opposites (harm, unrighteousness, destructive desire). Each domain should be judged distinctly rather than confused or used to justify the other.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, articulates a reflective principle about how to assess human aims—wealth, duty, and desire—by tracing their ‘anubandha’ (attached outcomes). It functions as moral instruction within the Adi Parva’s broader didactic framing.