Shloka 42
सर्वेषामृद्धिकामानामन्ये रथपुर:सरा: । मनुष्याश्ष गतस्त्रीका: शतशो विविधस्त्रिय:
sarveṣām ṛddhi-kāmānām anye ratha-puraḥsarāḥ | manuṣyāś ca gata-strīkāḥ śataśo vividha-striyaḥ ||
Nārada nói: “Ai cũng mong giàu sang thịnh vượng; nhưng chỉ ít người được đi đầu, ngồi xe ngựa mà qua lại. Nhiều đàn ông sống không vợ, còn hàng trăm người lại có nhiều vợ, đủ mọi hạng.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the uneven distribution of worldly fortunes: although everyone seeks prosperity, only a few attain visible status and privilege, and even domestic life (marriage) is not uniformly available—some lack it while others possess it in excess. It implicitly urges reflection on desire, contentment, and the ethical use of prosperity.
Nārada is speaking in the Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, offering an observation about human society: universal longing for wealth contrasts with the reality that only a minority enjoy elite comforts (symbolized by chariots), while marital circumstances vary widely from deprivation to abundance.