Shloka 20
Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)
यस्तु नित्यं कृतमतिर्धर्ममेवाभिपद्यते । अशड्कमान: कल्याणि सोअमुत्रानन्त्यमश्लुते,कल्याणी! जो सदा धर्मके विषयमें पूर्ण निश्चय रखनेवाला है और सब प्रकारकी आशंकाएँ छोड़कर धर्मकी ही शरण लेता है, वह परलोकमें अक्षय अनन्त सुखका भागी होता है अर्थात् परमात्माको प्राप्त हो जाता है
yastu nityaṁ kṛtamatir dharmam evābhipadyate | aśaṅkamānaḥ kalyāṇi so 'mutrānantyam aśnute ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “But the one whose resolve is steady day after day, who commits himself to Dharma alone, and who—O auspicious lady—casts aside every doubt and fear, attains in the next world an imperishable, unending state of well-being; indeed, he reaches the highest good.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfast commitment to Dharma—held with firm resolve and without anxious doubt—leads to imperishable, unending good in the hereafter, i.e., the highest spiritual attainment.
Yudhiṣṭhira is articulating a moral principle: he praises the person who consistently takes refuge in Dharma alone, emphasizing inner certainty and freedom from misgiving as the basis for ultimate welfare beyond this life.