Shloka 15
Nakula’s Counsel on Yajña, Dāna, and Tyāga (नकुलोपदेशः—यज्ञदानत्यागविचारः)
यदा कामान् समीक्षेत धर्मवैतंसिको नर: । अथीनं मृत्युपाशेन कण्ठे बध्नाति मृत्युराट्
yadā kāmān samīkṣeta dharmavaitāṃsiko naraḥ | athīnaṃ mṛtyupāśena kaṇṭhe badhnāti mṛtyurāṭ ||
Nakula berkata: “Bila seorang yang menjadikan dharma sekadar panji—berlagak saleh—namun masih memandang pada kenikmatan indria, meski hidup menyendiri di hutan, maka Sang Penguasa Maut mengikat leher orang yang tak berdaya itu dengan jerat kematian.”
नकुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Outer signs of righteousness or renunciation are meaningless if the mind still dwells on sense-pleasures; inner self-control is essential, and hypocrisy hastens spiritual and moral downfall.
Nakula delivers a warning within the Shanti Parva’s ethical instruction: even a forest-dweller who merely ‘looks toward’ or mentally revisits pleasures while posing as virtuous becomes vulnerable to Yama, symbolizing the inevitable consequence of unchecked desire.