Shloka 16
Śaṅkha–Likhita Upākhyāna: Daṇḍa, Confession, and the Purification of Kingship (शङ्ख-लिखितोपाख्यानम्)
“महातेजस्वी युधिष्ठिर! दैवका मारा हुआ राजा कार्य करनेके समय जिस कार्यको नहीं सिद्ध कर पाता, उसमें उसका कोई दोष या अपराध नहीं बताया जाता है ।।
mahātejasvī yudhiṣṭhira! daivakā mārā-huā rājā kārya-karaṇe samaye yasmin kārye na siddhiṃ prāpnoti, tasmin tasya na kaścid doṣo nāparādho 'bhidhīyate. tarasā buddhipūrvam vā nigrāhyā eva śatravaḥ; pāpaiḥ saha na sandadhyād, rājyaṃ paṇyaṃ na kārayet.
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O machtvoller Yudhiṣṭhira! Wird ein König vom Geschick getroffen und vermag zur Zeit des Handelns eine Aufgabe nicht zu vollenden, so legt man ihm dafür weder Schuld noch Vergehen zur Last. Doch die Feinde müssen gezügelt werden — sei es rasch, sei es mit bedachtsamer Klugheit. Man soll sich nicht mit den Bösen verbünden und das Reich nicht wie eine Ware behandeln, die man feilbietet oder zum Gegenstand des Feilschens macht.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse balances compassion and accountability: failures caused by destiny are not treated as moral guilt, yet a ruler must still act decisively and intelligently—restraining enemies, avoiding alliances with the wicked, and never reducing sovereignty to something to be bought and sold.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Vaiśampāyana addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, summarizing principles of governance: how to judge failure under the pressure of fate, how to handle hostile forces, and what kinds of political compromises are ethically unacceptable.