Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
भावमिच्छति सर्वस्य नाभावे कुरुते मन: । सत्यवादी मृदुर्दान्तो यः स उत्तमपूरुष:
bhāvam icchati sarvasya nābhāve kurute manaḥ | satyavādī mṛdur dānto yaḥ sa uttamapūruṣaḥ ||
天鹅(Hamsa)说道:凡求众生之福祉,不令其心哪怕一念趋向害人;言语真实,行止柔和,自能克制者,称为“至善之人”。
हंस उवाच
The verse defines the ‘uttama-pūruṣa’ as one whose inner intention is universal welfare, whose mind does not incline toward harming others, and whose character is marked by truthfulness, gentleness, and disciplined self-control.
In Udyoga Parva, as negotiations and preparations around the great war intensify, a didactic voice (Hamsa) articulates a moral criterion for true nobility—shifting attention from power and strategy to inner disposition and ethical restraint.