Shloka 61
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
धर्मादर्थात् सुखाच्चैव मा राजन् नीनश: प्रजा: । अनर्थमर्थ मन्वानो<प्यर्थ चानर्थमात्मन:
dharmād arthāt sukhāc caiva mā rājan nīnaśaḥ prajāḥ | anartham artham anvāno 'py arthaṁ cānartham ātmanaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O König, beraube deine Untertanen nicht des Dharma, des Wohlstands und des Glücks. Selbst jetzt verwechselst du den wahren Untergang mit Gewinn und den wahren Gewinn mit Untergang für dich selbst. Ich suche allein das Wohlergehen von dir und den Pāṇḍavas.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must protect the people’s access to dharma (righteous order), artha (legitimate prosperity), and sukha (well-being). Ethical failure often begins with distorted judgment—treating harmful choices as ‘profit’ and true benefit as ‘loss’—and this misperception leads to public suffering.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and counsel, the narrator Vaiśampāyana conveys a warning to the king: his current stance endangers the realm and the Pāṇḍavas’ welfare. The king is urged not to let misguided self-interest deprive the subjects of righteousness, prosperity, and happiness.