Shloka 74

Devanagari script

पराश्रया वासुदेव या जीवति धिगस्तु ताम्‌ । वृत्ते: कार्पण्यलब्धाया अप्रतिष्ठेव ज्यायसी,*वासुदेव! जो स्त्री दूसरोंके आश्रित होकर जीवन-निर्वाह करती है, उसे धिक्कार है। दीनतासे प्राप्त हुई जीविकाकी अपेक्षा तो मर जाना ही उत्तम है

Transliteration

parāśrayā vāsudeva yā jīvati dhig astu tām | vṛtteḥ kārpaṇya-labdhāyā apratiṣṭheva jyāyasī ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O Vāsudeva, shame upon that woman who lives by depending on others. Compared with a livelihood obtained through wretchedness and begging dependence—bereft of dignity—death itself is the better course.”

Word by Word

पराश्रयाdependent on others

वासुदेवO Vāsudeva

याwho

जीवतिlives

धिक्shame! fie!

अस्तुlet there be

ताम्her

वृत्तेःthan livelihood; from livelihood

कार्पण्य-लब्धायाःobtained through wretchedness/poverty

अप्रतिष्ठाdeath (lit. loss of standing/support)

इवas if; like

ज्यायसीbetter; superior

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse upholds personal dignity (pratiṣṭhā) and condemns a life sustained through humiliating dependence; it asserts that a livelihood gained through abjectness is ethically inferior even to death, emphasizing honor and self-reliance as dharmic values.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Vaiśampāyana narrates a pointed moral statement addressed to Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), using the example of a woman living under others’ support to stress the disgrace of undignified dependence and the primacy of honor.