Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 58

कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च

Time-Reckoning, Yuga-Dharma, and the Sequence of Creation

Devanagari script

यामेतां प्राप्प जानीषे राज्यश्रियमनुत्तमाम्‌ | स्थिता मयीति तन्मिथ्या नैषा होकत्र तिषछतति

Transliteration

śakra uvāca | yām etāṁ prāpya jānīṣe rājyaśriyam anuttamām | sthitā mayīti tan mithyā naiṣā hy ekatra tiṣṭhati ||

Translation

释迦罗说道：“你得到了这无上的王者荣华，便以为：‘它将稳固地属于我。’此念是虚妄的；因为王权之福（室利/吉祥天女）从不被系缚于某一处或某一人。”

Word by Word

• yām: which (whom)
• yām: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• etām: this
• etām: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• prāpya: having obtained
• prāpya: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āp
• Form: ktvā (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), Non-finite

• jānīṣe: you think/know
• jānīṣe: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā
• Form: Lat, Present, Second, Singular, Ātmanepada

• rājyaśriyam: royal fortune/prosperity
• rājyaśriyam: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājyaśrī
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• anuttamām: unsurpassed, supreme
• anuttamām: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• sthitā: standing/remaining
• sthitā: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthita
• Form: kta (past passive participle), Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• mayi: in me
• mayi: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad
• Form: Locative, Singular

• iti: thus (quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti

• tat: that (idea)
• tat: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• mithyā: false, wrongly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mithyā

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• eṣā: this (she)
• eṣā: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• ekatra: in one place
• ekatra: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekatra

• tiṣṭhati: stays, stands
• tiṣṭhati: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā
• Form: Lat, Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

श॒क्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• rājyaśrī (royal fortune/prosperity)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Royal prosperity is unstable and cannot be presumed permanent; a ruler should not become complacent or arrogant, but remain vigilant in dharma, governance, and self-discipline, knowing that fortune moves.

What is happening in the narrative?

Indra (Śakra) addresses a king or interlocutor who believes that having gained supreme royal splendor it will remain with him. Indra corrects this assumption, warning that rājyaśrī is not fixed in one place and can depart.