Shloka 486
पञ्चवर्णोत्पत्तिः — The Origin of the Five-Colored Fiery Being and Ritual-Disruptor Lineages
प्रभुत्वं लभते चापि धर्मस्यैतत् फल विदु: । सज्जनशिरोमणे! धर्मात्मा पुरुष शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप और प्रिय गन्ध--सभी प्रकारके विषय तथा प्रभुत्व भी प्राप्त करता है। उसकी यह स्थिति धर्मका ही फल मानी गयी है
prabhutvaṃ labhate cāpi dharmasyaitat phalaṃ viduḥ | sajjanaśiromaṇe! dharmātmā puruṣaḥ śabda-sparśa-rūpa-priya-gandhān sarvān viṣayān tathā prabhutvam api prāpnoti | tasya eṣā sthitir dharmasyaiva phalaṃ manyate |
El cazador dijo: «Sabed que la soberanía también es fruto del dharma. ¡Oh joya entre los virtuosos! El hombre justo alcanza todos los objetos deseables de los sentidos—sonido, tacto, forma y fragancia grata—y obtiene asimismo autoridad y señorío. Tal condición se tiene por nada distinto del resultado del dharma».
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma is not merely an abstract virtue: it bears tangible results. Even worldly attainments—prosperity, enjoyable sense-objects, and social or political authority—are presented as legitimate fruits of righteousness when grounded in a dharmic life.
In the Vana Parva’s dialogue associated with the hunter-teacher (Vyādha), the speaker instructs his listener using ethical reasoning. Here he emphasizes that the elevated condition of a dharmic person—enjoyments and even lordship—is understood by the wise as arising from dharma’s merit.