Shloka 50
ब्राह्मणानुयात्रा—शौनकोपदेशः
Brāhmaṇas Follow into Exile and Śaunaka’s Instruction
युधिष्ठिरैवं सर्वेषु न स्पृहां कर्तुमरहसि । धर्मेण यदि ते कार्य विमुक्तेच्छो भवार्थत:,'युधिष्ठिर! इस प्रकार आपके लिये किसी भी वस्तुकी अभिलाषा करनी उचित नहीं है। यदि आपको थधर्मसे ही प्रयोजन हो तो धनकी इच्छाका सर्वथा त्याग कर दें"
yudhiṣṭhiraivaṁ sarveṣu na spṛhāṁ kartum arhasi | dharmeṇa yadi te kāryaṁ vimukteccho bhavārthataḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Yudhiṣṭhira, in this manner it is not fitting for you to cultivate longing for any object at all. If your purpose is truly to be fulfilled through dharma, then become, in essence, one who has relinquished desire—free from craving for wealth and gain.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that one who seeks to act purely through dharma should not be driven by craving for objects or wealth; ethical action requires inner freedom from possessive desire (spṛhā) and a deliberate relinquishing of acquisitive motivation.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses Yudhiṣṭhira with counsel, urging him to restrain longing and to align his aims with dharma rather than with artha (material gain), emphasizing a moral stance of detachment as appropriate to his character and duty.