Shloka 61
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
धर्मादर्थात् सुखाच्चैव मा राजन् नीनश: प्रजा: । अनर्थमर्थ मन्वानो<प्यर्थ चानर्थमात्मन:,भारत! मैं तो आपका और पाण्डवोंका भी कल्याण ही चाहता हूँ। राजन! आप समस्त प्रजाको धर्म, अर्थ और सुखसे वंचित न कीजिये। इस समय आप अनर्थको ही अर्थ और अर्थको ही अपने लिये अनर्थ मान रहे हैं
dharmād arthāt sukhāc caiva mā rājan nīnaśaḥ prajāḥ | anartham artham anvāno 'py arthaṁ cānartham ātmanaḥ ||
Waiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Raja, janganlah engkau merampas dari rakyatmu dharma, kemakmuran, dan kebahagiaan. Bahkan kini pun engkau mengira kebinasaan sebagai keuntungan, dan keuntungan sejati sebagai kebinasaan bagi dirimu. Aku hanya menghendaki kesejahteraanmu dan kesejahteraan para Pāṇḍava.”
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.