Shloka 14
अध्याय ३३ — कर्म, दैव, हठ, स्वभाव और पुरुषार्थ पर द्रौपदी का उपदेश
Draupadī on Action, Fate, and Human Effort
दुर्मनुष्या हि निर्वेदमफलं स्वार्थधातकम् | अशक्ता: श्रियमाहर्तुमात्मन: कुर्वते प्रियम्,“अपनी खोयी हुई राज्यलक्ष्मीका उद्धार करनेमें असमर्थ दुर्बल मनुष्य ही निष्फल और स्वार्थनाशक वैराग्यका आश्रय लेते हैं और उसीको प्रिय मानते हैं
durmanuṣyā hi nirvedam aphalaṃ svārthadhātakam | aśaktāḥ śriyam āhartum ātmanaḥ kurvate priyam |
毗舍摩耶那说道：“诚然，唯有软弱而卑劣之人——无力夺回失落的王权与荣华——才会投靠那种无果的‘离欲’，它实则毁坏自身利益；而后竟把这种心态当作德行来珍爱。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse criticizes a kind of ‘renunciation’ that is merely an excuse for incapacity: when people cannot regain prosperity or fulfill duty, they may label their helplessness as detachment. True ethical strength is not escapism but responsible effort aligned with dharma.
In the Vana Parva context, the speaker frames a judgment about those who, after losing royal fortune, adopt a posture of resignation. The line functions as a moral commentary: inability to restore one’s rightful prosperity and duty can lead some to embrace a self-defeating, unproductive ‘vairāgya’ and call it admirable.