Shloka 12
असंतोषादिदोष-निरूपणम्
On the Faults of Discontent and the Discipline of Detachment
यस्त्विमां वसुधां कृत्स्नां प्रशासेदखिलां नृप: । तुल्याश्मकांचनो यश्व स कृतार्थो न पार्थिव:
yas tv imāṁ vasudhāṁ kṛtsnāṁ praśāsed akhilāṁ nṛpaḥ | tulyāśma-kāñcano yaś ca sa kṛtārtho na pārthivaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: Ainda que um rei governasse por completo toda esta terra, e ainda que outro—tendo renunciado a tudo—considere pedra e ouro como iguais, entre os dois é o sábio renunciante quem está verdadeiramente realizado, não o governante terreno.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True success (kṛtārthatā) is measured by inner detachment: the one who treats stone and gold alike—free from craving and possessiveness—is more ‘fulfilled’ than a ruler who merely possesses and governs the whole earth.
In the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira voices a value-judgment about the limits of political power, contrasting royal sovereignty with the spiritual attainment of a renunciant who has abandoned attachment.