Mahabharata 3.33.23 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 33, Shloka 23
अध्याय ३३ — कर्म, दैव, हठ, स्वभाव और पुरुषार्थ पर द्रौपदी का उपदेश
Draupadī on Action, Fate, and Human Effort
यस्य धर्मो हि धर्मार्थ क्लेशभाड़ू न स पण्डित: । न स धर्मस्य वेदार्थ सूर्यस्यान्ध: प्रभामिव
yasya dharmo hi dharmārthaḥ kleśabhāḍū na sa paṇḍitaḥ | na sa dharmasya vedārthaḥ sūryasyāndhaḥ prabhām iva ||
ആരുടെയോ ധർമ്മം ‘ധർമ്മം’ എന്ന പേരിനുവേണ്ടി മാത്രം നിലകൊണ്ട്, ധർമ്മത്തിന്റെ പേരിൽ ക്ലേശഭാരമായി മാറുന്നുവോ, അവൻ പണ്ഡിതനല്ല. അന്ധൻ സൂര്യപ്രഭയെ അറിയാത്തതുപോലെ, അവൻ ധർമ്മത്തിന്റെ അർത്ഥം ഗ്രഹിക്കുകയില്ല.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not meant to be practiced as a hollow badge or as self-imposed suffering for its own sake. True wisdom lies in understanding dharma’s artha—its purpose, meaning, and ethical intent—rather than merely enduring hardship in its name.
Vaiśampāyana delivers a reflective maxim within the Vana Parva discourse, using a vivid analogy (a blind man and the sun’s radiance) to stress that without insight into dharma’s meaning, one’s practice remains fruitless and unintelligent.
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