Shloka 48
Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment
सन््तो हि सत्येन नयन्ति सूर्य सन््तो भूमिं तपसा धारयन्ति | सन््तो गतिर्भूतभव्यस्य राजन् सतां मध्ये नावसीदन्ति सन्त:,श्रेष्ठ पुरुष सत्यके बलसे सूर्यका संचालन करते हैं। संत-महात्मा अपनी तपस्यासे इस पृथ्वीको धारण करते हैं। राजन! सत्पुरुष ही भूत, वर्तमान और भविष्यके आश्रय हैं। श्रेष्ठ पुरुष संतोंके बीचमें रहकर कभी दु:ख नहीं उठाते हैं
santo hi satyena nayanti sūryaṃ santo bhūmiṃ tapasā dhārayanti | santo gatir bhūta-bhavyasya rājan satāṃ madhye nāvasīdanti santaḥ ||
Yama said: “For it is the good and holy who, by truth, guide the course of the sun; it is the good who, by austerity, uphold the earth. O king, the righteous are the refuge and guiding way for what has been and what is yet to be. Dwelling among the virtuous, the virtuous themselves do not sink into sorrow.”
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness and austerity are presented as forces that sustain cosmic order: the virtuous, grounded in satya and tapas, uphold the world and become a refuge across time; keeping company with such people prevents one from sinking into sorrow.
Yama addresses a king and praises the spiritual efficacy of the righteous: their truth ‘guides the sun,’ their austerity ‘supports the earth,’ and association with the virtuous is portrayed as a safeguard against distress.