Shloka 15
Adhyāya 287 — Janaka’s Inquiry on Śreyas, Abhayadāna, and Asaṅga
Non-attachment
यत् तु निश्रेयसं सम्यक् तच्चैवासंशयात्मकम्
yat tu niśreyasaṃ samyak tac caivāsaṃśayātmakam | suhṛdām anugrahaḥ śatrubhāva-dhāriṇāṃ duṣṭānāṃ daṇḍanaṃ tathā dharmārtha-kāma-saṃgrahaś ca—idaṃ manīṣiṇaḥ śreya ity āhuḥ ||
Sinabi ni Nārada: “Ang tunay na nagdadala sa pinakamataas na kabutihan (niśreyasa), kapag wasto ang pagkaunawa, ay likas na walang pag-aalinlangan. Ang paglingap at pagtangkilik sa mga mabubuting kaibigan, ang pagpaparusa sa masasamang may poot, at ang pagtiyak sa tatlong layon—dharma, artha (yaman), at kāma (makatarungang pagnanasa)—ito ang tinatawag ng marurunong na ‘kabutihan’ (śreyas).”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
True welfare (niśreyasa/śreyas) is not uncertain or speculative; it is recognized by clear ethical duties: support the well-disposed, restrain and punish the malicious who act from enmity, and responsibly secure dharma, artha, and kāma in a balanced way.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous governance and conduct, Nārada states criteria for what counts as genuine ‘good’: benevolence toward allies and well-wishers, firm punishment of hostile wrongdoers, and the orderly pursuit of the three human aims (dharma, artha, kāma).