Shloka 31
राजधर्मः—राष्ट्ररक्षणं, दण्डनीतिः, हयग्रीवोपाख्यानम्
Royal Duty: Protection, Penal Policy, and the Hayagrīva Exemplum
सुखं च दुःखं च भवाभवौ च लाभालाभौ मरणं जीवितं च । पर्यायत: सर्वमवाप्रुवन्ति तस्माद् धीरो नैव हृष्येन्न शोचेत्
sukhaṃ ca duḥkhaṃ ca bhavābhavau ca lābhālābhau maraṇaṃ jīvitaṃ ca | paryāyataḥ sarvam avāpruvanti tasmād dhīro naiva hṛṣyen na śocet ||
Bonheur et peine, naissance et disparition, gain et perte, mort et vie — tout cela échoit à chacun à son tour, selon l’ordre du temps. Aussi l’homme ferme ne doit-il ni s’enivrer de joie ni se consumer de chagrin, mais les accueillir avec une intelligence stable.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
All opposites—pleasure and pain, gain and loss, life and death—arrive by turns as part of the world’s changing order. The ethical counsel is steadiness: cultivate a dhīra disposition that does not swing into elation or despair, so one can act according to dharma without being ruled by transient outcomes.
Vyāsa is instructing in the Śānti Parva’s consolatory and didactic setting, emphasizing philosophical calm after catastrophe. The verse functions as guidance for those facing upheaval, urging composure amid alternating fortunes.