Shloka 6
Gāndhārī’s Grief, Vyāsa’s Pacification, and the Ethics of Retaliation (गान्धारी-शोकः शमोपदेशश्च)
राजा हि यः: स्थिरप्रज्ञ: स्वयं दोषानवेक्षते । देशकालविभागं च परं श्रेय: स विन्दति,“जिसकी बुद्धि स्थिर है, ऐसा जो राजा स्वयं दोषोंको देखता और देश-कालके विभागको समझता है, वह परम कल्याणका भागी होता है
rājā hi yaḥ sthiraprajñaḥ svayaṃ doṣān avekṣate | deśa-kāla-vibhāgaṃ ca paraṃ śreyaḥ sa vindati ||
For a king whose understanding is steady—who personally examines his own faults and also discerns the proper distinctions of place and time—attains the highest good. The verse frames ideal rulership as self-scrutiny joined to practical discernment, implying that ethical governance depends on both inner discipline and situational wisdom.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler reaches the highest welfare (śreyaḥ) by combining inner steadiness (sthiraprajñā) with honest self-audit of faults (doṣa-avekṣaṇa) and by judging actions according to context—what is appropriate to the place and the time (deśa-kāla-vibhāga).
Vaiśampāyana continues a didactic reflection within the Strīparvan’s aftermath of war, articulating principles of wise governance: the king should not be blind to his own errors and must act with contextual discernment, thereby securing true welfare rather than impulsive or self-serving outcomes.