Shloka 31
राजधर्मः—राष्ट्ररक्षणं, दण्डनीतिः, हयग्रीवोपाख्यानम्
Royal Duty: Protection, Penal Policy, and the Hayagrīva Exemplum
सुखं च दुःखं च भवाभवौ च लाभालाभौ मरणं जीवितं च । पर्यायत: सर्वमवाप्रुवन्ति तस्माद् धीरो नैव हृष्येन्न शोचेत्
sukhaṃ ca duḥkhaṃ ca bhavābhavau ca lābhālābhau maraṇaṃ jīvitaṃ ca | paryāyataḥ sarvam avāpruvanti tasmād dhīro naiva hṛṣyen na śocet ||
Ligaya at dalamhati, paglitaw at pagpanaw, pakinabang at pagkalugi, kamatayan at buhay—lahat ng ito’y dumarating sa bawat isa sa kani-kanilang panahon, ayon sa sunod-sunod na takbo. Kaya ang matatag na tao’y hindi dapat magbunyi ni magdalamhati, kundi salubungin ang mga ito nang may panatag na pag-unawa.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
All opposites—pleasure and pain, gain and loss, life and death—arrive by turns as part of the world’s changing order. The ethical counsel is steadiness: cultivate a dhīra disposition that does not swing into elation or despair, so one can act according to dharma without being ruled by transient outcomes.
Vyāsa is instructing in the Śānti Parva’s consolatory and didactic setting, emphasizing philosophical calm after catastrophe. The verse functions as guidance for those facing upheaval, urging composure amid alternating fortunes.