Mahabharata 11.13.6 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 6
Gāndhārī’s Grief, Vyāsa’s Pacification, and the Ethics of Retaliation (गान्धारी-शोकः शमोपदेशश्च)
राजा हि यः: स्थिरप्रज्ञ: स्वयं दोषानवेक्षते । देशकालविभागं च परं श्रेय: स विन्दति,“जिसकी बुद्धि स्थिर है, ऐसा जो राजा स्वयं दोषोंको देखता और देश-कालके विभागको समझता है, वह परम कल्याणका भागी होता है
rājā hi yaḥ sthiraprajñaḥ svayaṃ doṣān avekṣate | deśa-kāla-vibhāgaṃ ca paraṃ śreyaḥ sa vindati ||
«Pues el rey de juicio firme, que por sí mismo examina sus faltas y discierne también las debidas distinciones de lugar y de tiempo, alcanza el bien supremo.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler reaches the highest welfare (śreyaḥ) by combining inner steadiness (sthiraprajñā) with honest self-audit of faults (doṣa-avekṣaṇa) and by judging actions according to context—what is appropriate to the place and the time (deśa-kāla-vibhāga).
Vaiśampāyana continues a didactic reflection within the Strīparvan’s aftermath of war, articulating principles of wise governance: the king should not be blind to his own errors and must act with contextual discernment, thereby securing true welfare rather than impulsive or self-serving outcomes.
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