Shloka 12
धर्मसूक्ष्मे त्यागप्रधान्यविचारः
Subtle Dharma and the Primacy of Renunciation
इस जगत्में बहुत-से तपस्या और स्वाध्यायमें लगे हुए धर्मात्मा पुरुष देखे जाते हैं तथा ऋषि तो तपस्वी होते ही हैं। इन सबको सनातन लोकोंकी प्राप्ति होती है ।। अजातशत्रवो धीरास्तथान्ये वनवासिन: । अरण्ये बहवश्चैव स्वाध्यायेन दिवं गता:,कितने ही ऐसे धीर पुरुष हैं, जिनके शत्रु पैदा ही नहीं हुए। ये तथा और भी बहुत-से वनवासी हैं, जो वनमें स्वाध्याय करके स्वर्गलोकमें चले गये हैं
ajātaśatravo dhīrās tathānye vanavāsinaḥ | araṇye bahavaś caiva svādhyāyena divaṃ gatāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “In this world, many steadfast and righteous men are seen, devoted to austerity and to sacred study (svādhyāya); and the seers (ṛṣis) are ascetics by nature. All of them attain the eternal worlds. There are also many resolute men to whom no enemy is ever born, and many others who dwell in the forest—living in the wilderness, they have gone to heaven through the discipline of svādhyāya.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights svādhyāya (disciplined sacred study) and a life of restraint—often in seclusion—as a dharmic path that yields spiritual merit and higher realms. It also praises the ethical ideal of being ‘ajātaśatru’, one who creates no enmity.
In the Śānti Parva’s inquiry into dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira points to examples of calm, harmless, forest-dwelling practitioners who, through study and austerity, attained heavenly worlds—supporting a discussion on righteous conduct beyond warfare.