Shloka 20

राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)

Devanagari script

आर्जवं सर्वकार्येषु श्रयेथा: कुरुनन्दन । पुनर्नयविचारेण त्रयीसंवरणेन च

Transliteration

ārjavaṁ sarvakāryeṣu śrayethāḥ kurunandana | punarnayavicāreṇa trayīsaṁvaraṇena ca ||

Translation

毗湿摩说：“库鲁之喜啊，在一切事务上当以正直为依归；并且要以对正当政略的审慎思量，以及由吠陀三重戒律所导引的克制，来约束自身。”

Word by Word

• आर्जवम्: straightforwardness, rectitude
• आर्जवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आर्जव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सर्वकार्येषु: in all actions/undertakings
• सर्वकार्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व-कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• श्रयेथाः: you should resort to / take refuge in / adopt
• श्रयेथाः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रि (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (Vidhi-lin), Second, Singular, Ātmanepada

• कुरुनन्दन: O delight of the Kurus
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु-नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पुनः: again; further
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

• नयविचारेण: by consideration of policy/prudence
• नयविचारेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नय-विचार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• त्रयीसंवरणेन: by the threefold restraint/covering (i.e., restraint in three ways)
• त्रयीसंवरणेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रयी-संवरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kurunandana (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma urges the king to ground all conduct in ārjava (honest, straight dealing), and to pair that moral clarity with thoughtful naya (prudent governance) and disciplined restraint shaped by Vedic norms—ethics plus deliberative policy plus self-control.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and royal conduct after the war. Here he gives a concise directive: rule and act with integrity, reflect carefully on policy, and maintain restraint in accordance with sacred learning.