Shloka 22
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
नात:ः पापीयसीं काज्चिदवस्थां शम्बरो<ब्रवीत् । यत्र नैवाद्य न प्रातर्भोजनं प्रतिदृश्यते
nātaḥ pāpīyasīṃ kācid avasthāṃ śambaro ’bravīt | yatra naivādya na prātar-bhojanaṃ pratidṛśyate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Śambara menyatakan bahwa tiada keadaan yang lebih menyedihkan daripada ini: ketika untuk hari ini pun makanan tak tampak, dan untuk santapan pagi esok pun tidak terlihat. Melampaui kemiskinan seperti itu, tiada derita yang lebih besar.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights hunger and food-insecurity as the most crushing form of suffering, implying an ethical duty for rulers and society to prevent such deprivation and to treat relief of poverty as a primary dharmic concern.
Yudhiṣṭhira cites a saying attributed to Śambara to emphasize the severity of destitution—specifically the despair of not seeing food for today or even tomorrow morning—within a broader discussion of conduct, governance, and the human costs surrounding the impending conflict.