Shloka 6

Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ

Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics

Devanagari script

धर्मकामार्थमो क्षेषु यथावत्‌ कृतनिश्चय: । तथा भुवनकोशस्य सर्वस्यास्थ महामति:

Transliteration

dharmakāmārthamokṣeṣu yathāvat kṛtaniścayaḥ | tathā bhuvanakośasya sarvasyāstha mahāmatiḥ ||

Translation

毗舍波耶那说道：他对于法（dharma）、欲（kāma）、利（artha）与解脱（mokṣa）皆已作出周详而正当的定断；同样，那位胸怀宏大者也牢牢把握了整个世界之域——其秩序与广袤。

Word by Word

• धर्मकामार्थमोक्षेषु: in (matters of) dharma, kāma, artha, and mokṣa
• धर्मकामार्थमोक्षेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + काम + अर्थ + मोक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• यथावत्: properly, as it should be
• यथावत्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथावत्

• कृतनिश्चयः: one whose resolve is made; firmly decided
• कृतनिश्चयः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत + निश्चय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तथा: likewise, similarly
• तथा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• भुवनकोशस्य: of the world-system (cosmic sphere)
• भुवनकोशस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुवन + कोश
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• सर्वस्य: of all, of the entire
• सर्वस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• आस्थः: standing in/abiding in; established in
• आस्थः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महामतिः: the great-minded one; a man of great intellect
• महामतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises an ideal of comprehensive discernment: a person should form a proper, settled judgment about the four puruṣārthas—dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa—so that ethical duty, worldly prosperity, legitimate enjoyment, and spiritual freedom are understood in right proportion rather than pursued blindly.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana characterizes a great-minded figure as intellectually and ethically accomplished—firmly resolved about the aims of human life and knowledgeable about the world’s overall order—thereby establishing the person’s authority and stature within the unfolding account of the Sabha Parva.