Shloka 3
Ālasyadoṣa-nirdeśa (On the Fault of Negligence) — The Camel’s Long-Neck Exemplum
न चैवं वर्तितव्यं सम यथेदमनुशुश्रुम । उष्टस्य तु महद् वृत्तं तन्निबोध युधिष्ठिर,युधिष्ठिर! हमने एक ऊँटका जो महान वृत्तान्त सुन रखा है, उसे तुम सुनो। राजाको वैसा बर्ताव नहीं करना चाहिये
na caivaṁ vartitavyaṁ sama yathedam anuśuśruma | uṣṭasya tu mahad vṛttaṁ tan nibodha yudhiṣṭhira ||
Bhīṣma berkata, “Yudhiṣṭhira, seseorang tidak patut bertindak seperti itu, sebagaimana telah kami dengar dalam tradisi. Namun dengarkanlah kisah besar tentang seekor unta—(di sana tampak) bagaimana seorang raja tidak seharusnya bersikap.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma cautions that a ruler (and by extension any person in authority) must not behave in a certain improper way; to clarify the ethical point, he introduces a traditional illustrative tale (dṛṣṭānta) about a camel, implying that the story will exemplify conduct a king should avoid.
In the ongoing instruction on rājadharma in Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and transitions into an exemplum: he says he has heard a significant account about a camel and asks Yudhiṣṭhira to listen, setting up the forthcoming story as a moral warning.