Shloka 10

Devanagari script

धर्मशीला जनपदा: सुसंतोषाश्न साधव: । न च मिथ्याप्रलापो>त्र स्वैरेष्वपि कुतोडन्यथा

Transliteration

dharmaśīlā janapadāḥ susantoṣāś ca sādhavaḥ | na ca mithyāpralāpo 'tra svair eṣv api kuto 'nyathā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “The people of that land were devoted to dharma—contented and virtuous. In that country there was no false or frivolous speech; even in matters left to one’s own choice, how could there be any deviation from what is right?”

Word by Word

धर्मशीलाःvirtuous; of righteous conduct

जनपदाःcountries/realms; communities

सुसन्तोषाःwell-contented; very satisfied

चand

साधवःgood people; the virtuous

नnot

चand

मिथ्याfalsely; untruthfully

प्रलापःtalk; prattle; speech

अत्रhere; in this place/realm

स्वैरेषुamong the self-willed; among the independent

अपिeven; also

कुतःwhence? how (could it be)?

अन्यथाotherwise; differently

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

janapadāḥ (the people of the realm)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A society grounded in dharma is marked by contentment, virtue, and truthfulness; when people are ethically formed, even personal freedom (svaira) does not lead to wrongdoing or ‘otherwise’ conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing the moral character of a particular country’s inhabitants, emphasizing their righteous nature and the absence of false speech as a sign of a well-ordered, dharmic community.