Shloka 1
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
अड-#-रू- अष्टाशीत्याधिकद्विशततमो< ध्याय: अरिषप्टनेमिका राजा सगरको वैराग्योत्पादक मोक्षविषयक उपदेश युधिछिर उवाच कथं नु युक्त: पृथिवीं चरेदस्मद्विधो नृप: । नित्यं कैश्व गुणैर्युक्त: संगपाशाद् विमुच्यते,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--दादाजी! मेरे-जैसा राजा कैसे साधन और व्यवहारसे युक्त होकर पृथ्वीपर विचरे और सदा किन गुणोंसे सम्पन्न होकर वह आसक्तिके बन्धनसे मुक्त हो?
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kathaṁ nu yuktaḥ pṛthivīṁ cared asmad-vidho nṛpaḥ? nityaṁ kaiś ca guṇair yuktaḥ saṅga-pāśād vimucyate?
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «¿Cómo debe vivir y conducirse por la tierra un rey como yo—qué disciplinas y qué conducta han de guiarlo? ¿Y con qué virtudes, cultivadas sin cesar, puede liberarse del lazo del apego?»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the ethical problem of rulership: a king must govern and act in the world, yet seek freedom from binding attachment. It introduces the ideal of disciplined action supported by steady virtues, so that power and responsibility do not become a cause of bondage.
In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira, seeking guidance after the war, asks an elder teacher how a ruler like himself should conduct his life and what qualities enable liberation from attachment while still performing royal duties.