Shloka 21

Devanagari script

जो मूढ़ मानव आर्ष-पग्रन्थोंके प्रमाणकी अवहेलना करके समस्त शास्त्रोंक विपरीत आचरण करते हुए धर्मका पालन नहीं करता, वह जन्म-जन्मान्तरोंमें भी कभी कल्याणका भागी नहीं होता

Transliteration

yo mūḍhaḥ mānavaḥ ārṣa-pragranthānāṃ pramāṇam avahīlya sarva-śāstra-viparītam ācaran dharmam na pālayati, sa janma-janmāntareṣv api kadācana kalyāṇasya bhāgī na bhavati.

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “The deluded man who scorns the authority of the ancient seers’ treatises and, acting contrary to all śāstras, fails to uphold dharma—such a person, even across repeated births, never becomes a recipient of true welfare and good fortune.”

Word by Word

yaḥwho

mūḍhaḥdeluded, foolish

mānavaḥman, human

ārṣa-pragranthānāmof the rishi-authored authoritative texts

pramāṇasyaof the authority/valid proof

avahelanāmdisregard, contempt

kṛtvāhaving done

samastānāmof all

śāstrāṇāmof the scriptures/treatises

viparītamcontrary, opposite

ācaraṇamconduct, practice

caranpractising, behaving

dharmamdharma, righteousness

nanot

pālayatiprotects/observes (follows)

saḥhe

janma-janmāntareṣuin births and further births (across rebirths)

apieven, also

kadācitever, at any time

kalyāṇasyaof welfare/auspicious good

bhāgīa sharer, partaker

nanot

bhavatibecomes/is

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Disregarding the seers’ authoritative teachings and acting against śāstra leads to a life (and afterlives) devoid of kalyāṇa; dharma must be upheld through disciplined, scripturally aligned conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira delivers a moral judgment within a dharma-discussion context, warning that contempt for ṛṣi-based authority and anti-śāstric behavior results in long-term spiritual and ethical ruin.