Shloka 24

राजधर्मः—राष्ट्ररक्षणं, दण्डनीतिः, हयग्रीवोपाख्यानम्

Royal Duty: Protection, Penal Policy, and the Hayagrīva Exemplum

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वमें व्यासवाक्यविषयक चौबीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,सुखमेव हि दुःखान्तं कदाचिद्‌ दुःखत: सुखम्‌ | तस्मादेतद्‌ द्ववं जह्माद्‌ य इच्छेच्छाश्वतं सुखम्‌

Transliteration

sukham eva hi duḥkhāntaṃ kadācid duḥkhataḥ sukham | tasmād etad dvandvaṃ jahyād ya icchec chāśvataṃ sukham ||

Translation

So endet im «Mahābhārata», im «Śānti Parva», innerhalb des Abschnitts über die Unterweisung in den Pflichten der Könige («Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva»), das vierundzwanzigste Kapitel, das die Worte Vyāsas behandelt. Glück endet bisweilen in Leid, und bisweilen erwächst Glück aus Leid. Darum soll, wer dauerhaftes Wohlergehen begehrt, dieses Paar der Gegensätze (Lust und Schmerz) fahrenlassen und in beiden unbewegt standhaft bleiben.

Word by Word

सुखम्happiness

एवindeed/only

हिfor/indeed

दुःखान्तम्ending in sorrow; sorrowful end

कदाचित्sometimes

दुःखतःfrom sorrow

सुखम्happiness

तस्मात्therefore/from that

एतत्this

द्वन्द्वम्pair of opposites; duality

जह्यात्should abandon

यःwho

इच्छेत्would desire/should wish

शाश्वतम्eternal/perpetual

सुखम्happiness

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Pleasure and pain are unstable and can transform into each other; therefore, the seeker of lasting good should relinquish attachment to these dualities and cultivate steadiness (equanimity).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana concludes a section within the Śānti Parva’s Rājadharmānuśāsana material, summarizing the ethical point that a ruler or aspirant should not be swayed by alternating happiness and sorrow.