Shloka 23
Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 1 — The Pandavas’ Exit from Gajasāhvaya and the Citizens’ Lament (जनमेजयप्रश्नः; पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानम्)
श्रूयतां चाभिधास्यामो गुणदोषान् नरर्षभा: | शुभाशुभाधिवासेन संसर्ग: कुरुते यथा,“नरश्रेष्ठ पाण्डवो! शुभ और अशुभ आश्रयमें रहनेपर वहाँका संसर्ग मनुष्यमें जैसे गुण- दोषोंकी सृष्टि करता है, उनका हम वर्णन करते हैं, सुनिये
śrūyatāṃ cābhidhāsyāmo guṇadoṣān naraṛṣabhāḥ | śubhāśubhādhivāsena saṃsargaḥ kurute yathā ||
Waiśampāyana berkata: “Dengarkan, wahai insan terbaik; kini akan kami uraikan bagaimana pergaulan—yang dibentuk oleh tinggal di lingkungan yang mujur atau celaka—menimbulkan lahirnya kebajikan dan cela pada diri seseorang.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person’s character is strongly shaped by saṃsarga (association) and by the moral tone of one’s environment: dwelling amid wholesome (śubha) influences tends to cultivate guṇas (virtues), while dwelling amid unwholesome (aśubha) influences tends to generate doṣas (faults).
Vaiśampāyana signals a didactic turn in the narration: he asks the listeners (addressed as ‘best of men’) to hear an explanation of how contact with auspicious or inauspicious surroundings produces virtues and vices—setting up a moral framework for the events to be recounted.