Shloka 58

कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira

Devanagari script

धारणाद्‌ धर्ममित्याहुर्धर्मों धारयते प्रजा: । यत्‌ स्यथाद्‌ धारणसंयुक्त स धर्म इति निश्चय:,धर्म ही प्रजाको धारण करता है और धारण करनेके कारण ही उसे धर्म कहते हैं। इसलिये जो धारण--प्राण-रक्षासे युक्त हो--जिसमें किसी भी जीवकी हिंसा न की जाती हो, वही धर्म है। ऐसा ही धर्म-शास्त्रोंका सिद्धान्त है

Transliteration

dhāraṇād dharmam ity āhur dharmo dhārayate prajāḥ | yat syād dhāraṇa-saṃyuktaṃ sa dharma iti niścayaḥ ||

Translation

เขากล่าวกันว่าเรียกว่า “ธรรมะ” เพราะเป็นสิ่งที่ค้ำจุน; ธรรมะค้ำจุนหมู่ชน. เพราะฉะนั้น สิ่งใดก็ตามที่ประกอบด้วย “การค้ำจุน”—คือสิ่งที่ธำรงชีวิตและพิทักษ์สรรพสัตว์—สิ่งนั้นแลเป็นธรรมะโดยแน่แท้. นี่คือข้อยุติอันมั่นคงแห่งคัมภีร์ธรรมศาสตร์.

Word by Word

• {'dhāraṇāt': 'from upholding, sustaining, supporting (ablative of dhāraṇā)', 'dharmaḥ': 'dharma

• that which sustains', 'iti': 'thus

• as said', 'āhuḥ': 'they say

• they declare', 'dhārayate': 'upholds, supports, sustains', 'prajāḥ': 'creatures

• people', 'yat': 'whatever

• that which', 'syāt': 'may be

• is (optative/possibility sense)', 'dhāraṇa-saṃyuktam': 'connected with sustaining/upholding

• conducive to preservation (especially of life)', 'saḥ': 'that', 'niścayaḥ': 'certainty

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva (the Wind-god)
• prajāḥ (the people/creatures)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is defined by its function of ‘upholding’—it sustains society and living beings. Actions and principles that preserve and support life are affirmed as dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva speaks as an authority figure, offering a dharma-śāstra style definition of dharma to guide ethical judgment amid the pressures of conflict and decision-making.