Shanti Parva Adhyaya 76 Shloka 17 - Mahabharata | Thai | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 17

राजधर्मः—प्रजापालनं दानयज्ञश्च

Royal Duty—Protection of Subjects, Generosity, and Sacrificial Discipline

Devanagari script

तत्र मेध्येष्वरण्येषु न्यस्तदण्डो जितेन्द्रिय: । धर्ममाराधयिष्यामि मुनिर्मूलफलाशन:

Transliteration

tatra medhyeṣv araṇyeṣu nyastadaṇḍo jitendriyaḥ | dharmam ārādhayiṣyāmi munir mūlaphalāśanaḥ ||

Translation

ณ ที่นั้น ในผืนป่าอันศักดิ์สิทธิ์ชำระมลทิน ข้าจักวางทัณฑ์ลง ละเว้นความรุนแรงทั้งปวง สำรวมอินทรีย์ ดำรงชีวิตดุจฤๅษี และบำเพ็ญบูชาธรรมะด้วยการยังชีพด้วยรากไม้และผลไม้

Word by Word

तत्रthere

मेध्येषुin pure/holy

अरण्येषुin forests

न्यस्तदण्डःhaving laid down the staff (renouncing violence/punishment)

जितेन्द्रियःself-controlled (having conquered the senses)

धर्मम्dharma, righteousness

आराधयिष्यामिI shall worship/serve

मुनिःa sage

मूलफलाशनःone who eats roots and fruits

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

forest (araṇya)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True restoration after violence and political turmoil is sought through dharma: renouncing harm (nyasta-daṇḍa), mastering the senses (jitendriya), and adopting a simple, disciplined life oriented to ethical cultivation rather than power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira expresses a resolve to withdraw into holy forests, abandon coercion and violence, live like an ascetic on roots and fruits, and devote himself to the worship and practice of dharma—reflecting his post-war moral anguish and desire for purification.