Shloka 72
अध्याय ३३ — कर्म, दैव, हठ, स्वभाव और पुरुषार्थ पर द्रौपदी का उपदेश
Draupadī on Action, Fate, and Human Effort
एतच्चापि तपो राजन् पुराणमिति न: श्रुतम् । विधिना पालन भूमेर्यत् कृतं न: पितामहै:,'राजेन्द्र! हमारे बाप-दादोंने जो किया है, वह धर्मपूर्वक पृथ्वीका पालन भी प्राचीनकालसे चला आनेवाला तप ही है; ऐसा हमने सुना है
etac cāpi tapo rājan purāṇam iti naḥ śrutam | vidhinā pālanaṃ bhūmer yat kṛtaṃ naḥ pitāmahaiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, we have also heard this as an ancient tradition: that the righteous governance of the earth—its protection and maintenance according to proper rule—is itself a form of austerity, as practiced by our forefathers.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ruling and protecting the earth according to dharma (vidhi) is not merely political work but a form of tapas—disciplined, merit-producing austerity—validated by ancient tradition and ancestral example.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses a king and frames righteous kingship as an inherited, time-honored practice: the forefathers’ lawful governance of the realm is presented as a recognized spiritual discipline.