Shloka 39
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
ह्वीमानवति देवांश्व॒ पितृनात्मानमेव च । तेनामृतत्वं ब्रजति सा काष्ठा पुण्यकर्मणाम्,लज्जाशील पुरुष देवताओंकी, पितरोंकी तथा अपनी भी रक्षा करता है। इससे वह अमृतत्वको प्राप्त होता है। वही पुण्यात्मा पुरुषोंकी परम गति है
hrīmān avati devānś ca pitṝn ātmānam eva ca | tenāmṛtatvaṁ vrajati sā kāṣṭhā puṇyakarmaṇām ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: «Ein Mensch, der Schamhaftigkeit (hrī) besitzt, schützt die Götter, die Ahnen (pitṛ) und sogar sich selbst. Durch diese Tugend erlangt er Unsterblichkeit; dies ist die höchste Vollendung und das oberste Ziel derer, die rechtschaffene Werke tun.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Modesty and moral shame (hrī) function as inner guardianship: they restrain wrongdoing, thereby protecting one’s relationship with the divine order (devas), ancestral obligations (pitṛs), and one’s own integrity. Such self-restraint is presented as the pinnacle of meritorious conduct and a path to enduring spiritual reward (amṛtatva).
In Udyoga Parva’s ethical discussions preceding the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a dharmic principle: the truly righteous person is characterized by hrī (modesty/shame), and this quality is praised as safeguarding cosmic, ancestral, and personal welfare, culminating in the highest goal for the virtuous.