Shloka 63
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
न जातु कामाजन्न भयान्न लोभाद् धर्म त्यजेज्जीवितस्यापि हेतो: । नित्यो धर्म: सुखदुः:खे त्वनित्ये जीवो नित्यो हेतुरस्य त्वनित्य:
na jātu kāmāj na bhayān na lobhād dharmaṁ tyajej jīvitasya api hetoḥ | nityo dharmaḥ sukha-duḥkhe tv anitye jīvo nityo hetur asya tv anityaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana disse: “Nunca se deve abandonar o dharma—seja por desejo, por medo, por ganância, nem mesmo para preservar a própria vida. O dharma é duradouro, enquanto prazer e dor são transitórios. Do mesmo modo, o ser (jīva) é duradouro, e a causa de seu cativeiro é transitória.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma must not be sacrificed under pressure from desire, fear, greed, or even the instinct for self-preservation. The verse grounds this in a metaphysical contrast: dharma and the self are enduring, whereas pleasure/pain and the factors that bind the self are transient—so one should not trade the lasting for the fleeting.
In Svargārohaṇa Parva, Vaiśaṃpāyana continues the concluding instruction-like narration, emphasizing the Mahābhārata’s ethical summation: steadfastness in dharma despite extreme trials, and a final perspective that relativizes worldly suffering and attachment by pointing to impermanence.