Shloka 20

Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)

Devanagari script

यस्तु नित्यं कृतमतिर्धर्ममेवाभिपद्यते । अशड्कमान: कल्याणि सोअमुत्रानन्त्यमश्लुते,कल्याणी! जो सदा धर्मके विषयमें पूर्ण निश्चय रखनेवाला है और सब प्रकारकी आशंकाएँ छोड़कर धर्मकी ही शरण लेता है, वह परलोकमें अक्षय अनन्त सुखका भागी होता है अर्थात्‌ परमात्माको प्राप्त हो जाता है

Transliteration

yastu nityaṁ kṛtamatir dharmam evābhipadyate | aśaṅkamānaḥ kalyāṇi so 'mutrānantyam aśnute ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Doch wer Tag für Tag einen festen Entschluss bewahrt, sich allein dem Dharma weiht und—o glückverheißende Frau—jeden Zweifel und jede Furcht von sich wirft, der erlangt in der jenseitigen Welt einen unvergänglichen, endlosen Zustand des Wohlergehens; ja, er erreicht das höchste Gut.“

Word by Word

यःwho (he who)

तुbut/indeed

नित्यम्always

कृतमतिःone of resolved mind (firmly determined)

धर्मम्dharma/righteousness

एवonly/indeed

अभिपद्यतेresorts to/attains/approaches

अशङ्कमानःnot doubting; free from suspicion

कल्याणिO auspicious lady

सःhe

अमुत्रthere (in the other world)

अनन्त्यम्endlessness; the infinite state

अश्नुतेattains/enjoys

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

kalyāṇi (addressed woman, unspecified in the verse)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Steadfast commitment to Dharma—held with firm resolve and without anxious doubt—leads to imperishable, unending good in the hereafter, i.e., the highest spiritual attainment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira is articulating a moral principle: he praises the person who consistently takes refuge in Dharma alone, emphasizing inner certainty and freedom from misgiving as the basis for ultimate welfare beyond this life.