Shloka 3

Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya

Devanagari script

कम्मिंश्षात्मा निधातव्यस्त्रिवर्गविजयाय वै । संहृष्टा नै्ठिकं वाक्यं यथावद्‌ वक्तुमर्हथ,“इन तीनोंपर विजय पानेके लिये विशेषत: किसमें मन लगाना चाहिये। आप सब लोग हर्ष और उत्साहके साथ इस प्रश्नका यथावत्रूपसे उत्तर दें और वही बात कहें, जिसपर आपकी पूरी आस्था हो”

Transliteration

kasmiṁś cātmā nidhātavyas trivarga-vijayāya vai | saṁhṛṣṭā naiṣṭhikaṁ vākyaṁ yathāvad vaktum arhatha ||

Translation

Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «¿En qué, por encima de todo, debe asentarse firmemente la mente para conquistar los tres fines de la vida? Alegraos y manteneos resueltos, y responded a esta pregunta con exactitud: exponed aquella enseñanza en la que tenéis plena y definitiva convicción.»

Word by Word

कस्मिन्in which (one)

आत्माthe mind/self

निधातव्यःshould be placed/fixed

त्रिवर्गविजयायfor the conquest of the three aims (dharma-artha-kama)

वैindeed/assuredly

संहृष्टाःdelighted/cheerful

नैष्ठिकम्firm/steadfast (from conviction)

वाक्यम्statement/answer

यथावत्properly/as it should be

वक्तुम्to speak

अर्हथyou are able/you ought

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical inquiry: to master the three worldly aims (dharma, artha, kāma), one must fix the mind upon a chosen foundation, and the respondents are urged to speak a correct teaching grounded in firm personal conviction (naiṣṭhikī niṣṭhā).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana introduces a question being posed to a group of respondents: they are asked, with enthusiasm and seriousness, to declare what the mind should be anchored in to achieve mastery over the trivarga, and to answer in a properly reasoned and sincerely held way.