Shloka 25

Devanagari script

धर्म उवाच उपपन्नो गुणैरेतै: स्वभावेनासि पाण्डव | भवान्‌ धर्म: पुनश्चैव यथोक्तं ते भविष्यति

Transliteration

dharma uvāca | upapanno guṇair etaiḥ svabhāvenāsi pāṇḍava | bhavān dharmaḥ punaś caiva yathoktaṃ te bhaviṣyati ||

Translation

Dharma dit : «Ô Pāṇḍava, par ta nature même tu es pourvu de ces vertus. En vérité, tu es Dharma incarné ; et, comme tu l’as déclaré, ces qualités de droiture continueront de demeurer en toi.»

Word by Word

• धर्मः: Dharma (the personified Dharma)
• धर्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• उपपन्नः: endowed, possessed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपपन्न (कृदन्त; उप + पद् → उपपद्/उपपन्न)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गुणैः: with qualities
• गुणैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• एतैः: with these
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• स्वभावेन: by (your) nature
• स्वभावेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• असि: you are
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पाण्डव: O Pandava
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• भवान्: you (honorific)
• भवान्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धर्मः: Dharma / righteousness
• धर्मः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पुनः: again, further
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• एव: indeed, certainly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)

• यथा: as, according to
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)

• उक्तम्: said, spoken
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उक्त (कृदन्त; वच् → उक्त)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dative, Singular

• भविष्यति: will be, will come to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: Future (लृट्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

धर्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dharma (personified)
• Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True righteousness is not merely a performed duty but an inner disposition: when virtue arises from one’s svabhāva (inherent character), it becomes stable and enduring. Dharma affirms that Yudhiṣṭhira’s ethical qualities are natural to him and therefore will persist.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Vana Parva dialogue, Dharma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira directly, commending him as naturally endowed with the virtues under discussion and declaring him ‘Dharma’ in essence, assuring that these righteous qualities will remain in him as he has stated.