Shloka 20
Śṛṅgī’s Curse on King Parikṣit
Parikṣit–Śṛṅgī–Takṣaka Causal Link
सम्यक्सद्धर्ममूला वै व्यसने शान्तिरुत्तमा । अधर्मात्तरता नाम कृत्स्नं व्यापादयेज्जगत्,'“आपत्तिकालमें शान्तिके लिये वही उपाय उत्तम माना गया है जो भलीभाँति श्रेष्ठ धर्मके अनुकूल किया गया हो। संकटसे बचनेके लिये उत्तरोत्तर अधर्म करनेकी प्रवृत्ति तो सम्पूर्ण जगत्का नाश कर डालेगी”
samyak saddharmamūlā vai vyasane śāntir uttamā | adharmāttarātā nāma kṛtsnaṃ vyāpādayej jagat ||
In times of calamity, the highest course is a peace-making response firmly rooted in true dharma and carried out rightly. A habit of seeking escape by ever-increasing adharma, however, would end up destroying the whole world.
शेष उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in danger, the best remedy is a course of peace and resolution grounded in true dharma and executed correctly; escalating wrongdoing as a survival tactic ultimately leads to universal ruin.
Śeṣa offers a moral warning within the Adi Parva’s instructive discourse: when facing संकट (vyasana), one should seek śānti through dharmic means rather than slipping into a pattern of ever-greater adharma for short-term relief.