Shloka 21
नास्मिन् कुले जातु ममज्ज धर्मों न चालस्यथादर्थलोपो बभूव । अनुत्तरा: सर्वभूतेषु भूय: सम्प्राप्ता: सम: संशयं किनु राजन्,“राजन! हमारे कुलमें कभी आलस्यवश धर्मका लोप नहीं हुआ; अर्थका भी कभी नाश नहीं हुआ। हमने किसी भी प्राणीके प्रार्थना करनेपर कभी उसे कोरा जवाब नहीं दिया-- निराश नहीं किया। फिर भी हम धर्मसंकटमें कैसे पड़ गये?”
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: nāsmin kule jātu mamajja dharmo na cālasyathād arthalopo babhūva | anuttarāḥ sarvabhūteṣu bhūyaḥ samprāptāḥ samaḥ saṃśayaṃ kinu rājan ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “In our lineage, dharma has never sunk into decline, not even once; nor has there ever been loss of wealth through sloth. Moreover, whenever any living being approached us, we did not send them away with an empty refusal—we did not leave them hopeless. Even so, O King, how have we come to be caught in a crisis of dharma—how can there be any doubt about our righteousness?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts that a noble lineage is measured by sustained dharma: diligence (no sloth), stewardship of resources (no avoidable loss of wealth), and compassion toward all beings (not turning away those who seek help). Yet it also highlights a Mahābhārata theme: even the righteous can face situations where dharma becomes difficult to discern, prompting humility and inquiry rather than complacent self-certainty.
Vaiśampāyana reports a speaker’s reflection addressed to a king: the speaker defends their family’s long-standing ethical conduct—dharma has not declined, prosperity has not been squandered through laziness, and supplicants have not been dismissed. Despite this record, they find themselves in a ‘dharma-crisis’ and ask how such a predicament could have arisen.