Shloka 486
पञ्चवर्णोत्पत्तिः — The Origin of the Five-Colored Fiery Being and Ritual-Disruptor Lineages
प्रभुत्वं लभते चापि धर्मस्यैतत् फल विदु: । सज्जनशिरोमणे! धर्मात्मा पुरुष शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप और प्रिय गन्ध--सभी प्रकारके विषय तथा प्रभुत्व भी प्राप्त करता है। उसकी यह स्थिति धर्मका ही फल मानी गयी है
prabhutvaṃ labhate cāpi dharmasyaitat phalaṃ viduḥ | sajjanaśiromaṇe! dharmātmā puruṣaḥ śabda-sparśa-rūpa-priya-gandhān sarvān viṣayān tathā prabhutvam api prāpnoti | tasya eṣā sthitir dharmasyaiva phalaṃ manyate |
โอ้ยอดแห่งสัตบุรุษ! จงรู้เถิดว่าอำนาจปกครองก็เป็นผลแห่งธรรม ผู้ตั้งมั่นในธรรมย่อมได้เสวยอารมณ์อันน่าปรารถนาทั้งปวง—เสียง สัมผัส รูป และกลิ่นหอม—พร้อมทั้งได้อำนาจและความเป็นใหญ่ สภาพเช่นนี้นับว่าเป็นผลของธรรมโดยแท้
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma is not merely an abstract virtue: it bears tangible results. Even worldly attainments—prosperity, enjoyable sense-objects, and social or political authority—are presented as legitimate fruits of righteousness when grounded in a dharmic life.
In the Vana Parva’s dialogue associated with the hunter-teacher (Vyādha), the speaker instructs his listener using ethical reasoning. Here he emphasizes that the elevated condition of a dharmic person—enjoyments and even lordship—is understood by the wise as arising from dharma’s merit.