Shloka 16
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
भावमिच्छति सर्वस्य नाभावे कुरुते मन: । सत्यवादी मृदुर्दान्तो यः स उत्तमपूरुष:,जो सबका कल्याण चाहता है, किसीके अकल्याण-की बात मनमें भी नहीं लाता, जो सत्यवादी, कोमल और जितेन्द्रिय है, वह उत्तम पुरुष माना गया है
bhāvam icchati sarvasya nābhāve kurute manaḥ | satyavādī mṛdur dānto yaḥ sa uttamapūruṣaḥ ||
The Hamsa says: He is called an excellent person who seeks the welfare of all, who does not even let his mind turn toward another’s harm, and who is truthful in speech, gentle in conduct, and self-controlled.
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines the ‘uttama-pūruṣa’ as one whose inner intention is universal welfare, whose mind does not incline toward harming others, and whose character is marked by truthfulness, gentleness, and disciplined self-control.
In Udyoga Parva, as negotiations and preparations around the great war intensify, a didactic voice (Hamsa) articulates a moral criterion for true nobility—shifting attention from power and strategy to inner disposition and ethical restraint.