Shloka 5
राजधर्मः—राष्ट्ररक्षणं, दण्डनीतिः, हयग्रीवोपाख्यानम्
Royal Duty: Protection, Penal Policy, and the Hayagrīva Exemplum
व्यास उवाच न कर्मणा लभ्यते चिन्तया वा नाप्यस्ति दाता पुरुषस्य कश्रित् | पर्याययोगाद् विहितं विधात्रा कालेन सर्व लभते मनुष्य:
vyāsa uvāca | na karmaṇā labhyate cintayā vā nāpy asti dātā puruṣasya kaścit | paryāyayogād vihitaṃ vidhātrā kālena sarvaṃ labhate manuṣyaḥ ||
毗耶娑说道：“大王啊，失去之物，并非仅凭作为便可复得，也非忧思苦虑便能挽回。世间亦无一人能作施主，将已灭之物径直还给他人。依次第流转，遵从造物主的法度，人终将在其应得之时，获得一切。”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that loss is not reversed simply by frantic effort or worry, and that no external agent can guarantee restoration. Instead, outcomes unfold through an ordered sequence governed by the cosmic arranger (vidhātṛ) and by time (kāla). Ethically, it recommends patience, emotional restraint, and trust in dharmic order while avoiding obsessive attachment to immediate results.
Vyāsa addresses a king (rājan) in the Śānti Parva’s consolatory and instructional setting, offering counsel meant to calm grief and agitation. He reframes personal misfortune as part of a larger temporal and providential order, guiding the listener toward steadiness and acceptance.