Shloka 14
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 31 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Instructions to Sañjaya
Peace Appeal and Five-Village Proposal
इमं च दृष्टवा तव कर्मदोषं पापोदर्क घोरमवर्णरूपम् | यावत् पर: कामयते5तिवेलं तावन्नरोडयं लभते प्रशंसाम्
sañjaya uvāca |
imaṃ ca dṛṣṭvā tava karmadoṣaṃ pāpodarkaṃ ghoraṃ avarṇarūpam |
yāvat paraḥ kāmayate'tivelaṃ tāvannaro'yaṃ labhate praśaṃsām ||
Sañjaya said: “Seeing this fault in your conduct as well—terrible, beyond description, and bearing the bitter fruit of sin and suffering in the time to come—I have come to this conclusion: the ordinance of the Supreme is decisive. So long as the Disposer wills it, only so long does a man obtain praise, and only for a limited span.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unrighteous action (karmadoṣa) inevitably ripens into painful consequences, and worldly praise is unstable—lasting only as long as Providence permits. The verse warns against relying on reputation while ignoring ethical accountability.
Sañjaya addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra, pointing out the grave moral defect in his (and his side’s) course of action. He frames the situation as governed by a higher ordinance: a person’s acclaim endures only temporarily, and impending consequences will follow wrongful deeds.