Shloka 2
श्रुता मे राजधर्माश्न वर्णानां च विनिश्चया: । आयत्यां च तदात्वे च यः पश्यति स पश्यति,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं-जनमेजय! भीमसेन-की बात सुनकर शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले पुरुषसिंह कुन्तीपुत्र युधिष्ठिर लम्बी साँस लेकर मन-ही-मन विचार करने लगे --'मैंने राजाओंके धर्म एवं वर्णोके सुनिश्चित सिद्धान्त भी सुने हैं, परंतु जो भविष्य और वर्तमान दोनोंपर दृष्टि रखता है, वही यथार्थदर्शी है
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
śrutā me rājadharmāś ca varṇānāṃ ca viniścayāḥ |
āyatyāṃ ca tadātve ca yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “I have heard the duties of kings and the settled determinations regarding the social orders. Yet only that person truly sees who keeps his gaze on both what is to come and what is at hand—on the future as well as the present.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere knowledge of royal duty and social norms is insufficient; true wisdom lies in discerning both immediate consequences and long-term outcomes. Ethical judgment must integrate present realities with future implications.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana frames a reflective moment: after hearing counsel and recalling teachings on kingship and social order, the emphasis shifts to practical discernment—who can evaluate the present situation while also foreseeing what it will lead to.