Shloka 10
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 180 — Svayaṃvara-Virodha and Pāṇḍava Parākrama
Draupadī Episode
यदा तु प्रतिषेद्धारं पापों न लभते क्वचित् | तिष्ठन्ति बहवो लोकास्तदा पापेषु कर्मसु
aurva uvāca |
yadā tu pratiṣeddhāraṃ pāpo na labhate kvacit |
tiṣṭhanti bahavo lokās tadā pāpeṣu karmasu ||
Aurva berkata: “Namun apabila seorang pendosa tidak menemukan sesiapa pun di mana-mana untuk mengekangnya, maka ramai orang akan terus berpegang pada perbuatan dosa. Kerana apabila kejahatan tidak dibendung, ia merebak dalam kalangan rakyat.”
ऑर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wrongdoing multiplies when there is no effective restraint. Ethical order (dharma) depends not only on personal virtue but also on the presence of deterrence—social, moral, or authoritative—that checks harmful impulses.
Aurva delivers a moral observation within the ongoing discourse: when a sinner encounters no opposition or correction, many people become emboldened and continue in sinful conduct. The verse functions as a warning about the societal spread of unpunished or unchallenged adharma.