Shloka 72
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
न राजानं मृषा गच्छेन्न द्विजातिं कथंचन । नस्त्रियं स्त्रीगुणोपेतां हन्युहोते मृषा गता:
na rājānaṁ mṛṣā gacchen na dvijātiṁ kathaṁcana | na striyaṁ strīguṇopetāṁ hanyuhote mṛṣā gatāḥ ||
Janaka dit : «Qu’on n’approche jamais un roi par la tromperie, ni qu’on n’approche en aucune manière un deux-fois-né (un brāhmane) sous un faux prétexte ; qu’on n’aille pas non plus, déguisé, auprès d’une femme pourvue des vertus d’une épouse chaste. Car les rois, les brāhmanes et les femmes inébranlables dans la fidélité, lorsqu’ils sont dupés par un homme ainsi travesti, s’irritent et causent sa perte.»
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Deceitful approach—especially by disguise or false pretence—toward figures of authority and sanctity (king, Brāhmaṇa, and a chaste, virtuous woman) is condemned; such deception invites severe retaliation and ruin. The verse reinforces satya (truthfulness) and maryādā (proper boundaries) as pillars of dharma.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Janaka delivers a moral warning: do not attempt to gain access or advantage through false identity or trickery when dealing with powerful rulers, revered religious persons, or women protected by the moral force of chastity; the deceiver risks destruction when the deception is discovered.