Shloka 39

अध्याय ३३ — कर्म, दैव, हठ, स्वभाव और पुरुषार्थ पर द्रौपदी का उपदेश

Draupadī on Action, Fate, and Human Effort

Devanagari script

न धर्मपर एव स्यान्न चार्थपरमो नर: । न कामपरमो वा स्यात्‌ सर्वान्‌ सेवेत सर्वदा

Transliteration

na dharmapara eva syān na cārthaparamo naraḥ | na kāmaparamo vā syāt sarvān seveta sarvadā ||

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: Человек не должен быть предан одной лишь дхарме, не должен стремиться только к артхе (богатству) и не должен жить лишь ради камы (желания). Напротив, всегда следует служить всем целям вместе, соблюдая должную меру и равновесие между долгом, благополучием и наслаждением.

Word by Word

नnot

धर्मपरःdevoted to dharma

एवonly/indeed

स्यात्should be

नnor/not

चand

अर्थपरमःone who holds artha as supreme

नरःa man

नnor/not

कामपरमःone who holds desire as supreme

वाor

स्यात्should be

सर्वान्all (persons)

सेवेतshould serve/attend upon

सर्वदाalways

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not absolutize a single life-goal—dharma, artha, or kāma. The teaching recommends a disciplined balance, cultivating all appropriately so that duty guides prosperity and pleasure rather than being eclipsed by them.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a general ethical maxim is stated: the ideal person is not one-sided (only righteous, only acquisitive, or only pleasure-seeking), but one who consistently integrates the major human aims in a harmonious way.