Mahabharata 1.115.39 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 115, Shloka 39
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 115 — Mādri’s request; invocation of the Aśvins; birth and naming of the Pāṇḍavas
ग्रामं जनपदस्यार्थ आत्मार्थे पृथिवीं त्यजेत् । स तथा विदुरेणोक्तस्तैश्व सर्वैर्द्धिजोत्तमै:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | grāmaṃ janapadasyārtha ātmārthe pṛthivīṃ tyajet | sa tathā vidureṇoktas taiś ca sarvair dvijottamaiḥ |
జనపదహితార్థం గ్రామాన్ని త్యజించాలి; ఆత్మహితార్థం అయితే భూమినే త్యజించాలి. ఇలా విదురుడూ, ఆ శ్రేష్ఠ బ్రాహ్మణులందరూ రాజుకు ఉపదేశించారు.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A graded ethic of sacrifice: one may give up a smaller unit for a larger common good (individual for family, family for village, village for realm), and for one’s highest spiritual welfare (ātmārtha) one may renounce even worldly sovereignty (pṛthivī). The verse frames renunciation as rational, dharmic prioritization.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Vidura and leading Brāhmaṇas counsel Dhṛtarāṣṭra to relinquish even a single son if that would secure the welfare of the Kuru line and the world. Dhṛtarāṣṭra, however, is overpowered by paternal attachment and does not follow the counsel; the narration continues toward the account of his hundred sons.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.