Shloka 18
अदारा-नीति
Crisis Composure) and ‘Jaya’ Śravaṇa (Morale-Instruction
बुद्धिमान् पुरुष इस जगत्में अत्यन्त अल्पमात्रामें अप्रियकी इच्छा करता है। लोकमें जिसका प्रिय अल्प होता है, उसका अप्रिय भी निश्चय ही अल्प होगा ।। प्रियाभावाच्च पुरुषो नैव प्राप्नोति शोभनम् | ध्रुवं चाभावमभ्येति गत्वा गड़ेव सागरम्
priyābhāvāc ca puruṣo naiva prāpnoti śobhanam | dhruvaṃ cābhāvam abhyeti gatvā gaḍeva sāgaram ||
प्रियाचा अभाव झाला तर पुरुषाला शोभन लाभत नाही. तो निश्चयच अभावाकडे झुकतो—जशी गंगा सागरात जाऊन विलीन होते.
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
A life stripped of wholesome ‘priya’—rightly directed affections, aims, and sources of joy—fails to reach ‘śobhana’ (true good/auspiciousness) and instead tends toward ‘abhāva’ (privation). The verse uses a natural simile to stress inevitability: absence of the dear leads to a predictable diminishment of well-being.
In Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled setting, the speaker (identified as ‘the son’) offers reflective instruction on human motivation and outcomes. The verse functions as a moral observation within advisory dialogue: it frames how managing what one seeks as ‘dear’ affects one’s experience of gain, loss, and the quality of life.