Shloka 12
यस्त्विमां वसुधां कृत्स्नां प्रशासेदखिलां नृप: । तुल्याश्मकांचनो यश्व स कृतार्थो न पार्थिव:,जो राजा इस सम्पूर्ण पृथ्वीका शासन करता है और जो सब कुछ छोड़कर पत्थर और सोनेको समान समझनेवाला है--इन दोनोंमेंसे वह त्यागी मुनि ही कृतार्थ होता है, राजा नहीं
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यस्त्विमां वसुधां कृत्स्नां प्रशासेदखिलां नृपः । तुल्याश्मकाञ्चनो यश्च स कृतार्थो न पार्थिवः ॥
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.