Shloka 4
अगस्त्य-वातापि-उपाख्यानम्
Agastya and Vātāpi: Ilvala’s stratagem; Lopāmudrā’s emergence
वर्धत्यधर्मेण नरस्ततो भद्राणि पश्यति । ततः सपत्नाज्जयति समूलस्तु विनश्यति,पहले अधर्मद्वारा मनुष्य बढ़ सकता है, फिर अपने मनो5नुकूल सुख-सम्पत्तिरूप अभ्युदयको देख सकता है, तत्पश्चात् वह शत्रुओंपर विजय पा सकता है और अन्तमें जड़ मूलसहित नष्ट हो जाता है
vardhaty adharmeṇa naras tato bhadrāṇi paśyati | tataḥ sapatnāj jayati samūlas tu vinaśyati ||
Lomaśa said: A man may prosper by unrighteous means, and for a time he even beholds agreeable gains and good fortune. Thereafter he may overcome his rivals; yet in the end he is destroyed utterly—root and all. The verse warns that success built on adharma is only a brief ascent that culminates in total ruin.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prosperity achieved through adharma can appear successful—bringing wealth, pleasure, and even victory over rivals—but it is unstable and ends in complete destruction. The verse emphasizes that unethical means corrode one’s foundation and inevitably lead to downfall.
Lomaśa is delivering a moral observation within the Vana Parva context, cautioning that apparent worldly success gained by wrongdoing is temporary. He frames a typical sequence—rise through adharma, enjoyment of ‘good’ results, triumph over opponents—followed by total ruin.