Shloka 12
Daśagrīva-boonāvaraṇa, Viṣṇv-avatāra-niyoga, Vānara-sahāya-janana, Mantharā-nirmāṇa
युधिष्ठटिर महाबाहो शृणु धर्मभूतां वर,“धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ महाबाहु युधिष्ठिर! मेरी बात सुनो, संसारमें जिन्होंने तपस्या नहीं की है, वे महान् सुखकी उपलब्धि नहीं कर पाते हैं। मनुष्य बारी-बारीसे सुख और दुःख दोनोंका सेवन करता है
yudhiṣṭhira mahābāho śṛṇu dharmabhūtāṃ vara | dharmātmāsu śreṣṭha mahābāhu yudhiṣṭhira mama vākyam śṛṇu | ye loke tapasā vihīnāḥ te mahatsukham na prāpnuvanti | manuṣyaḥ krameṇa sukha-duḥkhe ubhe bhuṅkte |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O mighty-armed Yudhiṣṭhira, best among the righteous, listen to my words. Those in the world who have not undertaken austerity and self-discipline do not attain great happiness. A human being, in due course, experiences both happiness and sorrow in turn.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Great and stable well-being is linked to tapas—disciplined self-restraint and sustained effort. Without such inner discipline, one does not reach ‘mahatsukha’; and in ordinary life one must be prepared to meet both happiness and sorrow as alternating experiences.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses Yudhiṣṭhira directly, offering moral instruction. He frames the teaching as counsel to a dharma-minded king: accept the alternation of joy and grief, and recognize austerity/self-discipline as a necessary means for higher happiness.