Shloka 61
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
धर्मादर्थात् सुखाच्चैव मा राजन् नीनश: प्रजा: । अनर्थमर्थ मन्वानो<प्यर्थ चानर्थमात्मन:
dharmād arthāt sukhāc caiva mā rājan nīnaśaḥ prajāḥ | anartham artham anvāno 'py arthaṁ cānartham ātmanaḥ ||
वैशम्पायन बोले—राजन्! आप अपनी प्रजा को धर्म, अर्थ और सुख से वंचित न कीजिए। अभी भी आप विनाश को लाभ और लाभ को अपने लिए विनाश समझ रहे हैं। मैं तो आपका और पाण्डवों का भी कल्याण ही चाहता हूँ।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must protect the people’s access to dharma (righteous order), artha (legitimate prosperity), and sukha (well-being). Ethical failure often begins with distorted judgment—treating harmful choices as ‘profit’ and true benefit as ‘loss’—and this misperception leads to public suffering.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and counsel, the narrator Vaiśampāyana conveys a warning to the king: his current stance endangers the realm and the Pāṇḍavas’ welfare. The king is urged not to let misguided self-interest deprive the subjects of righteousness, prosperity, and happiness.