Shloka 29

Adhyāya 262: Śabda-brahman, Para-brahman, and the Ethics of Tyāga

Kapila–Syūmaraśmi Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

प्रापयेयु: प्रजा: स्वर्गे स्वरधर्मांचरणेन वै । इति मे वर्तते बुद्धि: समा सर्वत्र जाजले

Transliteration

prāpayeyuḥ prajāḥ svarge svadharmācaraṇena vai | iti me vartate buddhiḥ samā sarvatra jājale ||

Translation

«Par la seule pratique de son propre dharma, on peut mener les êtres au ciel. Telle est la conviction qui demeure en moi, ô Jājali ; aussi mon intelligence reste-t-elle égale et impartiale envers tous.»

Word by Word

• {'prāpayeyuḥ': 'they would cause to reach

• would lead (optative, causative sense)', 'prajāḥ': 'creatures

• people', 'svarge': 'in heaven

• in the heavenly world', 'svadharma': 'one’s own prescribed duty

• duty appropriate to one’s station and nature', 'ācaraṇena': 'by practice

• through observance', 'vai': 'indeed

• certainly (emphatic particle)', 'iti': 'thus

• in this manner (quotative marker)', 'me': 'to me

• my', 'vartate': 'exists

• is present/prevails', 'buddhiḥ': 'understanding

• judgment', 'samā': 'equal

• impartial', 'sarvatra': 'everywhere

• toward all', 'jājale': 'O Jājali (vocative)'}

Speaker

चुलाधार उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Cūlādhāra
• Jājali
• svarga

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Cūlādhāra teaches that the highest benefit for people is achieved not through external ritual as such, but through steadfast practice of one’s own dharma; this conviction naturally yields an even, non-partisan attitude toward all.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Cūlādhāra–Jājali conversation of Śānti Parva, Cūlādhāra addresses Jājali and states his settled view: by svadharma alone people attain heavenly good, and therefore his mind remains equal everywhere—indicating ethical steadiness rather than ritualistic or sectarian bias.