Shloka 38
Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)
न फलादर्शनाद् धर्म: शड्कितव्यो न देवता: । यष्टव्यं च प्रयत्नेन दातव्यं चानसूयता,धर्मका फल तुरंत दिखायी न दे तो इसके कारण धर्म एवं देवताओंपर आशंका नहीं करनी चाहिये। दोषदृष्टि न रखते हुए यत्नपूर्वक यज्ञ और दान करते रहना चाहिये
na phalādarśanād dharmaḥ śaṅkitavyo na devatāḥ | yaṣṭavyaṃ ca prayatnena dātavyaṃ cān asūyatā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Man soll weder am Dharma noch an den Göttern zweifeln, nur weil die Frucht nicht sogleich sichtbar wird. Vielmehr soll man mit beständigem Bemühen fortfahren, Opfer darzubringen und Almosen zu geben, frei von Fehlersuche und Groll.“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not measure dharma by immediate visible rewards. Even when results are delayed or unseen, one should persist in righteous practice—especially yajña and dāna—without envy or a habit of blaming others.
In the Vana Parva context, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a principle of steadfastness in dharma during adversity: the absence of quick results is not grounds to distrust moral order or the divine; one must continue disciplined religious and ethical action.