Shloka 24
उत्तङ्कोपाख्यानप्रारम्भः — Uttanka’s Tapas, Viṣṇu-stuti, and the Dhundhumāra Prophecy
Opening
सत्यवादी मृदुर्दान्तः प्रजानां रक्षणे रत: । चर धर्म त्यजाधर्म पितृन् देवांश्व पूजय,मार्कण्डेयजीने कहा--राजन्! तुम सब प्राणियोंपर दया करो। सबके हितैषी बने रहो। सबपर प्रेमभाव रखो और किसीमें दोषदृष्टि मत करो। सत्यवादी, कोमलस्वभाव, जितेन्द्रिय और प्रजापालनमें तत्पर रहकर धर्मका आचरण करो। अधर्मको दूरसे ही त्याग दो तथा देवता और पितरोंकी आराधना करते रहो
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: satyavādī mṛdur dāntaḥ prajānāṃ rakṣaṇe rataḥ | cara dharmaṃ tyajādharmaṃ pitṝn devāṃś ca pūjaya ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Be truthful, gentle in disposition, self-controlled, and devoted to the protection of your subjects. Practice dharma; abandon adharma. Continue to worship the gods and honor the ancestors (pitṛs).”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a ruler’s ethical discipline: speak truth, be gentle and self-controlled, actively protect and care for the people, adhere to dharma while rejecting adharma, and sustain religious obligations through honoring gods and ancestors.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a set of counsel is being delivered in the Vana Parva context, emphasizing ideal royal conduct—moral restraint, public protection, and continued ritual-religious duties—framed as guidance for righteous governance.