Shloka 60
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
क्षत्रधर्मादमेयात्मा नाकम्पत युधिष्ठिर: । उस दयनीय अवस्थामें पहुँचकर अपनी महारानी कृष्णाको सभामें (तिरस्कारपूर्वक) लायी गयी देखकर भी महामना युधिष्ठिर अपने क्षत्रियधर्मसे विचलित नहीं हुए ।।
kṣatradharmād ameyātmā nākampata yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | ahaṃ tu tava teṣāṃ ca śreya icchāmi bhārata ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Steadfast in the warrior’s code, the great-souled Yudhiṣṭhira did not waver, even on seeing his queen Kṛṣṇā brought into the assembly in humiliation. Yet I, O Bhārata, seek the welfare of you and of them as well—do not deprive all your subjects of righteousness, prosperity, and happiness; in this moment you are mistaking ruin for gain, and what is truly beneficial as though it were harmful to you.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True kingship and ethical judgment prioritize śreyas—lasting welfare grounded in dharma—over short-term, self-centered calculations. A ruler should not, through delusion or pride, deprive the people of dharma, artha, and sukha by mistaking ruin for gain.
The narrator (Vaiśampāyana) highlights Yudhiṣṭhira’s unwavering adherence to kṣatriya-dharma and then frames a counsel addressed to a Bhārata king: seek mutual welfare, avoid policies that harm the realm, and recognize that the present course confuses true benefit with harm.