Shloka 39
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
ह्वीमानवति देवांश्व॒ पितृनात्मानमेव च । तेनामृतत्वं ब्रजति सा काष्ठा पुण्यकर्मणाम्
hrīmān avati devānś ca pitṝn ātmānam eva ca | tenāmṛtatvaṁ vrajati sā kāṣṭhā puṇyakarmaṇām ||
લજ્જાશીલ પુરુષ દેવતાઓ, પિતૃઓ અને પોતાના આત્માનું પણ રક્ષણ કરે છે. એ ગુણથી જ તે અમૃતત્વને પામે છે; આ જ પુણ્યકર્મ કરનારાઓની પરમ કાષ્ઠા (શ્રેષ્ઠ ગતિ) છે.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Modesty and moral shame (hrī) function as inner guardianship: they restrain wrongdoing, thereby protecting one’s relationship with the divine order (devas), ancestral obligations (pitṛs), and one’s own integrity. Such self-restraint is presented as the pinnacle of meritorious conduct and a path to enduring spiritual reward (amṛtatva).
In Udyoga Parva’s ethical discussions preceding the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a dharmic principle: the truly righteous person is characterized by hrī (modesty/shame), and this quality is praised as safeguarding cosmic, ancestral, and personal welfare, culminating in the highest goal for the virtuous.