Shloka 40

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 123 — Bhīṣma–Droṇa–Vidura Upadeśa to Duryodhana

Keśava-vākya aftermath

Devanagari script

आत्मानं तक्षति होष वनं परशुना यथा । यः सम्यग्वर्तमानेषु मिथ्या राजनू्‌ प्रवर्तते

Transliteration

ātmānaṃ takṣati hoṣa vanaṃ paraśunā yathā | yaḥ samyagvartamāneṣu mithyā rājan pravartate ||

Translation

ไวศัมปายนะกล่าวว่า “ข้าแต่พระราชา ดุจคนใช้ขวานโค่นพงไพร ฉันใด บุรุษผู้ท่ามกลางผู้ประพฤติชอบแล้วกลับดำเนินทางผิด ก็ฉันนั้น—เขาย่อมตัดทำลายตนเอง”

Word by Word

आत्मानम्oneself

तक्षतिcuts, hews

हindeed

उषburns

वनम्forest

परशुनाwith an axe

यथाas, just as

यःwho

सम्यक्rightly, properly

वर्तमानेषुamong those who are acting rightly / in right conduct

मिथ्याfalsely, wrongly

राजन्O king

प्रवर्ततेacts, proceeds, engages

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

rājan (the king, i.e., Janamejaya as addressee)

paraśu (axe)

vana (forest)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Wrong conduct in the midst of right-minded people ultimately harms the doer himself; ethical deviation is self-destructive, like felling a forest with an axe.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues his instruction to the king (Janamejaya), using a vivid simile to warn that choosing a false path—especially when dharma is evident around one—amounts to cutting down one’s own welfare and integrity.