Shloka 33

राजधर्मः—प्रजापालनं दानयज्ञश्च

Royal Duty—Protection of Subjects, Generosity, and Sacrificial Discipline

Devanagari script

युधिछिर उवाच कि तात परमं स्वर्ग्यं का ततः प्रीतिरुत्तमा । कि ततः परमैश्चर्य ब्रूहि मे यदि पश्यसि,युधिष्ठटिरने पूछा--तात! स्वर्ग-प्राप्तिका उत्तम साधन क्या है? उससे कौन-सी उत्तम प्रसन्नता प्राप्त होती है? तथा उसकी अपेक्षा महान्‌ ऐश्वर्य क्या है? यदि आप इन बातोंको जानते हैं तो मुझे बताइये

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kiṃ tāta paramaṃ svargyaṃ kā tataḥ prītir uttamā | kiṃ tataḥ paramaiśvaryaṃ brūhi me yadi paśyasi ||

Translation

યુધિષ્ઠિરે પૂછ્યું—તાત! સ્વર્ગપ્રાપ્તિનું પરમ સાધન શું છે? તેમાંથી ઉત્પન્ન થતી ઉત્તમ પ્રસન્નતા કઈ છે? અને તેની પણ પરે પરમ ઐશ્વર્ય શું છે? જો તમે આ વાતો જાણતા હો તો મને કહો.

Word by Word

• {'yudhiṣṭhira uvāca': 'Yudhiṣṭhira said', 'kim': 'what?', 'tāta': 'dear father

• revered elder (a respectful address)', 'paramam': 'supreme

• highest', 'svargyam': 'leading to heaven

• conducive to svarga', 'kā': 'which? what kind of?', 'tataḥ': 'from that

• beyond that', 'prītiḥ': 'joy

• gladness', 'uttamā': 'best

• highest', 'parama-aiśvaryam': 'supreme lordly prosperity

• highest excellence/sovereign fortune', 'brūhi': 'tell (me)', 'me': 'to me

• my', 'yadi': 'if', 'paśyasi': 'you see

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a graded ethical inquiry: (1) the supreme practice that leads to heaven, (2) the highest inner joy born of that practice, and (3) an even greater ‘aiśvarya’—suggesting that true excellence is not merely external reward but a higher good that surpasses heavenly merit, inviting reflection on dharma’s deeper fruits.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Yudhiṣṭhira respectfully questions an elder teacher, asking for guidance on the best heaven-leading discipline, the finest satisfaction it yields, and what surpasses even those—preparing the ground for a discourse on values beyond mere reward.