Shloka 6
असंतोषादिदोष-निरूपणम्
On the Faults of Discontent and the Discipline of Detachment
आत्मोदरकृते<प्राज्ञ: करोति विघसं बहु | जयोदरं पृथिव्या ते श्रेयो निर्जितया जितम्
ātmodarākṛte prājñaḥ karoti vighasaṃ bahu | jayodaraṃ pṛthivyā te śreyo nirjitayā jitam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “For the sake of his own belly, an unwise person commits much violence and wrongdoing. Therefore, first conquer your own ‘belly’—your appetite and craving. When that inner conquest is achieved, it is as though, by this already-conquered earth, you have won what is truly auspicious and beneficial.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True victory begins with self-mastery: craving for food and comfort can drive a person into violence and injustice. Conquering appetite and greed is presented as a higher, more auspicious conquest than merely winning territory.
In the Shanti Parva’s moral instruction on dharma and governance, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks reflectively, contrasting external conquest (of the earth/kingdom) with the more difficult and ethically decisive conquest of one’s own desires.