Shloka 42
Adhyāya 42 (Śānti Parva): Śrāddha, Aurdhvadaihika Rites, and Royal Welfare Measures
इस सारी पृथ्वीको जीतकर शत्रुओंसे उऋ्ण हो शत्रुहीन राजा युधिष्ठिर सुखपूर्वक विहार करने लगे ।। इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि श्राद्धक्रियायां द्विचत्वारिंशोडध्याय:
iṣāṃ sārāṃ pṛthivīṃ jitvā śatrubhyaḥ ṛṇaṃ vimucya śatru-hīno rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ sukha-pūrvakaṃ vihartuṃ pracakrame || iti śrī-mahābhārate śānti-parvaṇi rāja-dharmānuśāsana-parvaṇi śrāddha-kriyāyāṃ dvi-catvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: Tendo conquistado toda a terra e, com isso, quitado a sua “dívida” para com os inimigos, o rei Yudhiṣṭhira—agora sem adversários—passou a viver e a mover-se com tranquilidade. Assim termina o quadragésimo segundo capítulo, sobre os ritos de śrāddha, dentro da seção Rājadharmānuśāsana do Śānti Parva do Śrī Mahābhārata.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames kingship ethically: conquest is not merely power but the completion of a burdensome obligation (ṛṇa) arising from conflict; once that burden is discharged and hostility ends, the rightful aim becomes stable peace and well-being under a ruler who is free from enmity.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira, having secured sovereignty over the earth and ended opposition, now lives in comfort. The line also functions as a colophon marking the close of the chapter on śrāddha rites within the Rājadharmānuśāsana portion of the Śānti Parva.