Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 15

Gautama’s Flight, the Enchanted Grove, and the Arrival of Rājadharma

Nāḍījaṅgha

Devanagari script

कल्याणं कुरुते बाढं धीमान्‌ न ग्लायते क्वचित्‌ । प्रशान्तवाड्मना नित्यं ह्ीस्तु धर्मादवाप्यते

Transliteration

kalyāṇaṁ kurute bāḍhaṁ dhīmān na glāyate kvacit | praśāntavāḍmanā nityaṁ hrīst(u) dharmād avāpyate ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「他者の福利のために真摯に尽くす賢者は、決して落胆に沈まない。心と言葉が常に静まり澄む者は『フリー（hrī）』—慎みの自制—を備えるとされ、この徳はダルマの実践によって得られる。」

Word by Word

• {'kalyāṇam': 'welfare, good, auspicious benefit', 'kurute': 'does, performs, brings about', 'bāḍham': 'firmly, intensely, earnestly', 'dhīmān': 'wise, intelligent, discerning', 'na': 'not', 'glāyate': 'droops, becomes despondent, is dejected', 'kvacit': 'anywhere, ever, at any time', 'praśānta': 'calm, tranquil, pacified', 'vāk': 'speech', 'manas': 'mind', 'praśāntavāḍmanā': 'with calm speech and mind (instrumental compound)', 'nityam': 'always, continually', 'hrīḥ': 'modesty, shame in the sense of moral restraint, bashfulness', 'dharma': 'righteous conduct, moral law, duty', 'dharmāt': 'from dharma

• through dharma (ablative)', 'avāpyate': 'is obtained, is attained'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True modesty (hrī) is not mere shyness; it is a moral restraint that arises from living by dharma. The wise person actively promotes others’ welfare, remains free from dejection, and maintains calmness in mind and speech.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous living, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by defining the marks and source of the virtue called hrī (modesty/restraint), linking it to beneficent action, inner composure, and dharmic practice.