Shloka 33
Adhyāya 128 — Proposal to Restrain Keśava; Sātyaki’s Warning and Vidura–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Counsel
“इन्हीं दोनों (काम और क्रोध)-के द्वारा देवताओंने स्वर्गमें जानेवाले पुरुषके लिये उस लोकका दरवाजा बंद कर रखा है। वीतराग पुरुषसे डरकर ही देवताओंने स्वर्गप्राप्तिके प्रतिबन्धक काम और क्रोधकी वृद्धि की है ।।
kāmau krodhaṃ ca lobhaṃ ca dambhaṃ darpaṃ ca bhūmipaḥ | samyag vijetuṃ yo veda sa mahīm abhijāyate ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Desire and anger are portrayed as the very forces by which the gods keep the gate of heaven barred to those who would ascend; fearing the truly dispassionate person, they intensify these obstacles—lust and wrath. Therefore, the king who truly knows how to conquer desire, anger, greed, hypocrisy, and pride is the one fit to rule the earth.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s legitimacy rests on inner conquest: mastering desire, anger, greed, hypocrisy, and pride. These vices are depicted as spiritual obstacles that block higher attainment; self-control is therefore both ethical discipline and political qualification.
In Vaiśaṃpāyana’s narration within the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled setting, the text frames kāma and krodha as gatekeepers that prevent ascent to heaven and then states a rājadharma maxim: only the king who can truly overcome these inner enemies is fit to govern the earth.