Mahabharata — Adi Parva, Shloka 21

Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)

Devanagari script

अर्थमर्थनुबन्धं च धर्म धर्मानुबन्धनम्‌ | काम कामानुबन्धं च विपरीतान्‌ पृथक्‌ पृथक्‌

Transliteration

artham arthanubandhaṁ ca dharmaṁ dharmānubandhanam | kāmaṁ kāmānubandhaṁ ca viparītān pṛthak pṛthak

Translation

«(Debe discernirse) la riqueza junto con las consecuencias que se siguen de la riqueza; el dharma junto con las consecuencias que se siguen del dharma; y el deseo junto con las consecuencias que se siguen del deseo—reconociendo también sus contrarios—cada uno por separado y con claridad.»

Word by Word

• अर्थम्: wealth/interest (object)
• अर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अर्थानुबन्धम्: that which is connected with wealth (its consequence/appendage)
• अर्थानुबन्धम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्थानुबन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• धर्मम्: dharma/duty (object)
• धर्मम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• धर्मानुबन्धनम्: that which is connected with dharma (its consequence/appendage)
• धर्मानुबन्धनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मानुबन्धन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कामम्: desire/pleasure (object)
• कामम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• कामानुबन्धम्: that which is connected with desire (its consequence/appendage)
• कामानुबन्धम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कामानुबन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• विपरीतान्: opposites/contraries
• विपरीतान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपरीत
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• पृथक्: separately
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक्

• पृथक्: each separately
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक्

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches ethical discernment: evaluate artha (material gain), dharma (righteous duty), and kāma (desire) together with their inevitable consequences, and also recognize their opposites (harm, unrighteousness, destructive desire). Each domain should be judged distinctly rather than confused or used to justify the other.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, articulates a reflective principle about how to assess human aims—wealth, duty, and desire—by tracing their ‘anubandha’ (attached outcomes). It functions as moral instruction within the Adi Parva’s broader didactic framing.