Shloka 16
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 31 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Instructions to Sañjaya
Peace Appeal and Five-Village Proposal
हन्तात्मन: कर्म निबोध राजन् धर्मार्थयुक्तादार्यवृत्तादपेतम् । उपक्रोशं चेह गतो5सि राजन् भूयश्व पापं प्रसजेदमुत्र
sañjaya uvāca | hantātmanaḥ karma nibodha rājan dharmārthayuktād āryavṛttād apetam | upakrośaṃ ceha gato 'si rājan bhūyaś ca pāpaṃ prasajed amutra mahārāja ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, reflect on your own conduct. Your behavior has strayed far from the noble way of life grounded in dharma and prudent self-interest. Because of this, you have incurred reproach in this world; and beyond, O great king, you will again be seized by sin—bringing the suffering of a hellish fate.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must align personal conduct with dharma and artha as upheld by noble standards; otherwise, one suffers both worldly disgrace (public censure) and otherworldly moral consequences (pāpa leading to painful posthumous results).
Sañjaya delivers a sharp moral warning to the king he is addressing, urging self-examination and condemning behavior that has deviated from ārya-vṛtta; he frames the stakes as immediate social blame and future karmic retribution.