Shloka 7
अरण्यवृत्ति-वैराग्योपदेशः | Forest Discipline and the Program of Non-Attachment
मन:कर्णसुखा नित्यं शृण्वन्नुच्चावचा गिर: । मुदितानामरण्येषु वसतां मृगपक्षिणाम्
manaḥ-karṇa-sukhā nityaṁ śṛṇvann uccāvacā giraḥ | muditānām araṇyeṣu vasatāṁ mṛga-pakṣiṇām ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Semoga aku senantiasa mendengar, hari demi hari, aneka suara yang menyejukkan hati dan telinga—seperti panggilan binatang dan burung yang tinggal di rimba dengan tenteram dan gembira.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse values śānti (peace) and sensory restraint: true relief after suffering is found not in domination or noise, but in a simple, non-violent life attuned to nature, where the mind is soothed and the heart becomes fit again for dharma.
In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira—burdened by the consequences of war—voices a desire for forest quietude. He imagines living amid contented animals and birds, listening to their varied calls, as a symbol of withdrawing from turmoil toward calm reflection.