Shloka 5
राजधर्मः—राष्ट्ररक्षणं, दण्डनीतिः, हयग्रीवोपाख्यानम्
Royal Duty: Protection, Penal Policy, and the Hayagrīva Exemplum
व्यास उवाच न कर्मणा लभ्यते चिन्तया वा नाप्यस्ति दाता पुरुषस्य कश्रित् | पर्याययोगाद् विहितं विधात्रा कालेन सर्व लभते मनुष्य:,व्यासजी बोले--राजन्! न तो कोई कर्म करनेसे नष्ट हुई वस्तु मिल सकती है, न चिन्तासे ही। कोई ऐसा दाता भी नहीं है, जो मनुष्यको उसकी विनष्ट वस्तु दे दे। बारी- बारीसे विधाताके विधानानुसार मनुष्य समयपर सब कुछ पा लेता है
vyāsa uvāca | na karmaṇā labhyate cintayā vā nāpy asti dātā puruṣasya kaścit | paryāyayogād vihitaṃ vidhātrā kālena sarvaṃ labhate manuṣyaḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “O King, what has been lost is not regained merely by action, nor by anxious brooding. Nor is there any benefactor who can simply hand a person back what has perished. In due succession, according to the ordinance set by the Disposer, a human being obtains everything in its proper time.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that loss is not reversed simply by frantic effort or worry, and that no external agent can guarantee restoration. Instead, outcomes unfold through an ordered sequence governed by the cosmic arranger (vidhātṛ) and by time (kāla). Ethically, it recommends patience, emotional restraint, and trust in dharmic order while avoiding obsessive attachment to immediate results.
Vyāsa addresses a king (rājan) in the Śānti Parva’s consolatory and instructional setting, offering counsel meant to calm grief and agitation. He reframes personal misfortune as part of a larger temporal and providential order, guiding the listener toward steadiness and acceptance.