Shloka 26
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
उन्मादमेके पुष्यन्ति यान्त्यन्ये द्विषतां वशम् । दास्यमेके च गच्छन्ति परेषामर्थहेतुना,कितने लोग पागल हो जाते हैं, बहुत-से शत्रुओंके वशमें पड़ जाते हैं और कितने ही मनुष्य धनके लिये दूसरोंकी दासता स्वीकार कर लेते हैं
unmādam eke puṣyanti yānty anye dviṣatāṁ vaśam | dāsyam eke ca gacchanti pareṣām artha-hetunā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Some people lapse into madness; others fall under the control of their enemies; and some, driven by the motive of wealth, even accept servitude under others.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how loss of inner discipline and the pursuit of wealth can degrade a person—leading to mental collapse, political subjection to enemies, or voluntary servitude—implying that dharma requires guarding one’s autonomy and integrity against greed and fear.
In the Udyoga Parva’s deliberative context before the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on human vulnerability and social-political downfall, describing the ways people become compromised—by madness, by enemy domination, or by selling their freedom for material gain.