Shloka 22

Devanagari script

स्वभावप्रेरिता: सर्वे निविशन्ते गुणा यदा । शुभाशुभास्तदा तत्र कस्य कि मानकारणम्‌,जब शुभ और अशुभ सभी प्रकारके गुण स्वभावकी ही प्रेरणासे प्राप्त होते हैं, तब किसीको भी उनपर अभिमान करनेका क्या कारण है?

Transliteration

svabhāva-preritāḥ sarve niviśante guṇā yadā | śubhāśubhās tadā tatra kasya kiṁ māna-kāraṇam ||

Translation

ಶುಭವೂ ಅಶುಭವೂ ಆದ ಎಲ್ಲ ಗುಣಗಳು ಸ್ವಭಾವದ ಪ್ರೇರಣೆಯಿಂದಲೇ ಎಲ್ಲರೊಳಗೂ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುವಾಗ, ಅವುಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಯಾರಿಗೆ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಪಡುವ ಕಾರಣವೇನು?

Word by Word

स्वभावby (one's) nature

प्रेरिताःimpelled, prompted

सर्वेall

निविशन्तेenter, settle (in)

गुणाःqualities, attributes

यदाwhen

शुभgood, auspicious

अशुभाःbad, inauspicious

तदाthen

तत्रthere, in that matter

कस्यof whom, for whom

किम्what

मानकारणम्cause for pride (lit. cause of conceit)

Speaker

प्रह्माद उवाच

Characters & Entities

प

प्रह्लाद (Prahlāda)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Since both good and bad traits arise under the prompting of one’s innate nature, claiming personal credit and taking pride in them is misguided; the verse urges humility and a reduction of ego around one’s qualities.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s reflective instruction, Prahlāda speaks as a teacher, presenting a philosophical-ethical point: qualities manifest according to svabhāva, so one should not become arrogant about possessing ‘good’ qualities (nor despair as if wholly self-made by ‘bad’ ones).