Shloka 8
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 27 — Saṃjaya’s Counsel on Dharma, Desire, and the Non-Perishing of Karma
यत् किंचनेदं वित्तमस्यां पृथिव्यां यद् देवानां त्रिदशानां परं यत् । प्राजापत्यं त्रिदिवं ब्रह्म॒लोक॑ नाधर्मत: संजय कामयेयम्,संजय! इस धरातलपर जो कुछ भी धन-वैभव विद्यमान है, नित्य यौवनसे युक्त रहनेवाले देवताओंके यहाँ जो धनराशि है, उससे भी उत्कृष्ट जो प्रजापतिका धन है तथा जो स्वर्गलोक एवं ब्रह्मलोकका सम्पूर्ण वैभव है, वह सब मिल रहा हो, तो भी मैं उसे अधर्मसे लेना नहीं चाहूँगा
yat kiñcanedaṁ vittam asyāṁ pṛthivyāṁ yad devānāṁ tridaśānāṁ paraṁ yat | prājāpatyaṁ tridivaṁ brahmalokaṁ nādharmataḥ sañjaya kāmaye'yam, sañjaya ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Sañjaya, even if I were offered all the wealth that exists upon this earth; even the riches of the ever-youthful gods, the Thirty-three; even what is higher still—the lordly prosperity belonging to Prajāpati; even the entire splendor of heaven and of Brahmaloka—though all of it were placed within my reach, I would not desire to obtain it through adharma.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Material prosperity—whether earthly, divine, or even cosmic (heaven and Brahmaloka)—is not worth pursuing if it requires adharma. The verse asserts that ethical legitimacy is superior to the greatest possible gain.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and moral positioning, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks to Sañjaya, declaring his unwavering commitment to dharma: he will not accept any advantage, even the highest imaginable wealth and realms, if it must be obtained through unrighteous means.