Shloka 16
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 31 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Instructions to Sañjaya
Peace Appeal and Five-Village Proposal
हन्तात्मन: कर्म निबोध राजन् धर्मार्थयुक्तादार्यवृत्तादपेतम् । उपक्रोशं चेह गतो5सि राजन् भूयश्व पापं प्रसजेदमुत्र
sañjaya uvāca | hantātmanaḥ karma nibodha rājan dharmārthayuktād āryavṛttād apetam | upakrośaṃ ceha gato 'si rājan bhūyaś ca pāpaṃ prasajed amutra mahārāja ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô roi, considère ta propre conduite. Ton comportement s’est écarté bien loin de la voie noble, fondée sur le dharma et l’intérêt avisé. Pour cela, tu as attiré le blâme en ce monde ; et au-delà, ô grand roi, le péché te saisira de nouveau, t’apportant la souffrance d’un sort infernal.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must align personal conduct with dharma and artha as upheld by noble standards; otherwise, one suffers both worldly disgrace (public censure) and otherworldly moral consequences (pāpa leading to painful posthumous results).
Sañjaya delivers a sharp moral warning to the king he is addressing, urging self-examination and condemning behavior that has deviated from ārya-vṛtta; he frames the stakes as immediate social blame and future karmic retribution.