Shloka 3
अगस्त्य-वातापि-उपाख्यानम्
Agastya and Vātāpi: Ilvala’s stratagem; Lopāmudrā’s emergence
लोगश उवाच नात्र दुःखं त्वया राजन् कार्य पार्थ कथंचन । यदधर्मेण वर्धेयुरधर्मरुचयो जना:,लोमशजीने कहा--राजन्! कुन्तीनन्दन! अधर्ममें रुचि रखनेवाले लोग यदि उस अधर्मके द्वारा बढ़ रहे हों तो इसके लिये तुम्हें किसी प्रकार दुःख नहीं मानना चाहिये
lomaśa uvāca | nātra duḥkhaṃ tvayā rājan kāryaṃ pārtha kathaṃcana | yad adharmeṇa vardheyuḥ adharmarucayo janāḥ ||
Lomaśa said: “O King, O Pārtha, you should not grieve over this in any way. If people who delight in unrighteousness are prospering by means of that very unrighteousness, it is not for you to take it as a cause for sorrow.”
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should not be shaken by the apparent success of those who pursue adharma; their prosperity gained through unrighteous means is not a valid measure of what is truly good, stable, or worthy of grief.
The sage Lomaśa addresses the king among the Pāṇḍavas (and calls him also ‘Pārtha’), offering counsel meant to steady him: even if people inclined to adharma seem to flourish through wrongdoing, the righteous should not succumb to despair.