Shloka 4
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 27 — Saṃjaya’s Counsel on Dharma, Desire, and the Non-Perishing of Karma
लुप्तायां तु प्रकृती येन कर्म निष्पादयेत् तत् परीप्सेद् विहीन: । प्रकृतिस्थश्चापदि वर्तमान उभौ गह्याँ भवतः संजयैतौ
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | luptāyāṃ tu prakṛtyā yena karma niṣpādayet tat parīpsed vihīnaḥ | prakṛtisthaś cāpadi vartamāna ubhau garhyau bhavataḥ saṃjayaitau ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “When one’s means of livelihood have completely failed, a man who is without resources should seek that mode of living by which he can sustain life and still accomplish righteous duties. But, Saṃjaya, two kinds of people become blameworthy: one who, though remaining in his normal condition, adopts the conduct meant only for times of distress; and one who, even when truly afflicted, refuses to maintain life by the lawful means appropriate to that crisis. Thus, both extremes invite censure.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Emergency conduct (āpaddharma) is justified only when genuine distress destroys normal livelihood; one should then adopt a lawful means that preserves life and enables the performance of duty. Misusing emergency rules without real need, or refusing appropriate means of survival during real need, are both ethically blameworthy.
In the Udyoga Parva’s deliberations before the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira explains to Saṃjaya a nuanced principle of dharma: how a person should balance survival and righteousness, and how both opportunistic laxity and rigid impracticality can lead to moral censure.