Shloka 8

Nakula’s Counsel on Yajña, Dāna, and Tyāga (नकुलोपदेशः—यज्ञदानत्यागविचारः)

Devanagari script

कृतात्मा स महाराज स वै त्यागी स्मृतो नर:,महाराज! जो धर्मसे प्राप्त किये हुए धनका श्रेष्ठ यज्ञोमें उपयोग करता है और अपने मनको वशमें रखता है, वह मनुष्य त्यागी माना गया है

Transliteration

kṛtātmā sa mahārāja sa vai tyāgī smṛto naraḥ | mahārāja! yo dharmase prāpta kiye hue dhan kā śreṣṭha yajñoṃ meṃ upayog kartā hai aur apne man ko vaś meṃ rakhtā hai, vah manuṣya tyāgī mānā gayā hai |

Translation

നകുലൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“മഹാരാജാവേ! ധർമ്മത്തിലൂടെ ലഭിച്ച ധനം ശ്രേഷ്ഠ യജ്ഞകർമ്മങ്ങളിൽ വിനിയോഗിക്കുകയും മനസ്സിനെ നിയന്ത്രണത്തിൽ നിർത്തുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നവനെയാണ് കൃതാത്മാവും യഥാർത്ഥ ത്യാഗിയും എന്നു പറയുന്നത്.”

Word by Word

कृतात्माself-controlled; one whose mind is disciplined

सःhe

महाराजO great king

सःhe

वैindeed

त्यागीa renouncer; one who gives up (attachment/possessions)

स्मृतःis considered; is remembered as

नरःman; person

Speaker

नकुल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nakula

Mahārāja (the king addressed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Renunciation is defined not merely by giving up possessions, but by disciplined self-mastery and by dedicating dharmically earned wealth to the highest sacred and ethical purposes (yajña), while keeping the mind under control.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Nakula addresses the king and offers a criterion for who should be regarded as a true tyāgī: one who uses righteous wealth for sacrificial/beneficial acts and maintains inner restraint.