Mahabharata 3.33.46 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 33, Shloka 46
अध्याय ३३ — कर्म, दैव, हठ, स्वभाव और पुरुषार्थ पर द्रौपदी का उपदेश
Draupadī on Action, Fate, and Human Effort
दान॑ यज्ञा: सतां पूजा वेदधारणमार्जवम् | एष धर्म: परो राजन् बलवान प्रेत्य चेह च
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | dānaṁ yajñāḥ satāṁ pūjā vedadhāraṇam ārjavam | eṣa dharmaḥ paro rājan balavān pretya ceha ca ||
വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—രാജാവേ, ദാനം, യജ്ഞങ്ങൾ, സജ്ജനന്മാരെ ആദരിക്കൽ, വേദങ്ങളുടെ അധ്യയനവും സംരക്ഷണവും, കൂടാതെ ആർജവം (സരളത)—ഇവയാണ് പരമധർമ്മമായി കണക്കാക്കപ്പെടുന്നത്. ഈ ധർമ്മം ഇഹലോകത്തിലും പരലോകത്തിലും ശക്തിയുള്ളതാണ്।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines ‘supreme dharma’ as a set of sustaining virtues—charity, sacrificial duty, reverence for the virtuous, commitment to Vedic learning/preservation, and honest simplicity—stating that these yield strength and benefit both in worldly life and in the afterlife.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration to the king, a concise ethical summary is given: the narrator enumerates practices and virtues recognized as the most powerful form of dharma, emphasizing their efficacy across both realms (iha and pretya).
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