Shloka 67

Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)

Devanagari script

उभे दृष्टवा दु:खसुखे राज्यं प्राप्प यदृच्छया । राज्येनामात्यसंस्थेन कथ॑ं राजन्‌ प्रमाद्यसि

Transliteration

ubhe dṛṣṭvā duḥkha-sukhe rājyaṃ prāpya yadṛcchayā | rājyena amātya-saṃsthena kathaṃ rājan pramādyasi ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “Having experienced both sorrow and happiness, and having obtained the kingdom by sheer happenstance, how is it, O King, that you now grow negligent—though supported by the kingdom and a well-established body of ministers?”

Word by Word

• ubhe: both (two)
• ubhe: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ubhā
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Dual

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś
• Form: ktvā (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral), Non-finite

• duḥkha-sukhe: sorrow and happiness
• duḥkha-sukhe: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha-sukha
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Dual

• rājyam: kingdom, sovereignty
• rājyam: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājya
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• prāpya: having obtained
• Type: Verb
• Root: prāp
• Form: lyap (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral), Non-finite

• yadṛcchayā: by chance, accidentally
• yadṛcchayā: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: yadṛcchā
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• rājyena: by/with the kingdom (royal power)
• rājyena: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājya
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• amātya-saṃsthena: supported/established by ministers
• amātya-saṃsthena: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amātya-saṃstha
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• katham: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham

• rājan: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• pramādyasi: do you become negligent / are you careless
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-mad
• Form: Present, Indicative, Parasmaipada, Second, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• the King (rājan; addressed interlocutor)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler who has already witnessed life’s reversals and gained power should not become careless; sovereignty and capable ministers are meant to support vigilant, responsible governance, not complacency.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on rājadharma (the duties of kings). Here he rebukes the king’s lapse into negligence, reminding him that fortune and ministerial support demand greater attentiveness to duty.