एतच् च मरणं तात यद् अस्मात् पतिताद् इव ॥
ज्ञातयो विनिवर्तन्ते प्रेतसत्त्वाद् इवासवः ॥
नातः पापीयसीं कां चिद् अवस्थां शम्बरो ऽब्रवीत् ॥
यत्र नैवाद्य न प्रातर् भोजनं प्रतिदृश्यते ॥
धनम् आहुः परं धर्मं धने सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥
जीवन्ति धनिनो लोके मृता ये त्व् अधना नराः ॥
ये धनाद् अपकर्षन्ति नरं स्वबलम् आश्रिताः ॥
ते धर्मम् अर्थं कामं च प्रमथ्नन्ति नरं च तम् ॥
एताम् अवस्थां प्राप्यैके मरणं वव्रिरे जनाः ॥
ग्रामायैके वनायैके नाशायैके प्रवव्रजुः ॥
etac ca maraṇaṃ tāta yad asmāt patitād iva ||
jñātayo vinivartante pretasattvād ivāsavaḥ ||
nātaḥ pāpīyasīṃ kāṃ cid avasthāṃ śambaro 'bravīt ||
yatra naivādya na prātar bhojanaṃ pratidṛśyate ||
dhanam āhuḥ paraṃ dharmaṃ dhane sarvaṃ pratiṣṭhitam ||
jīvanti dhanino loke mṛtā ye tv adhanā narāḥ ||
ye dhanād apakarṣanti naraṃ svabalam āśritāḥ ||
te dharmam arthaṃ kāmaṃ ca pramathnanti naraṃ ca tam ||
etām avasthāṃ prāpyaike maraṇaṃ vavrire janāḥ ||
grāmāyaike vanāyaike nāśāyaike pravavrajuḥ ||
"This too is a kind of death, dear one — that kinsmen turn away from one who has fallen, as the breaths of life depart from a corpse. There is no state more sinful than the one where neither today nor in the morning is food to be found. They say wealth is the highest dharma, that on wealth everything rests; the wealthy live in this world, while men without wealth are as good as dead. Those who, relying on their own strength, strip a man of his wealth crush in him his dharma, his gain, and his desire — crush the man himself. Having come to this state, some people have chosen death; some have gone off to a village, some to the forest, and some to their own ruin."
92ed6db3dd93 · published Jul 17, 2026, 4:56:09 AM UTC
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This passage develops the central theme of the Udyoga-parva: the effort toward peace unfolds even as war draws near and seems unavoidable. Key themes: dharma. Dharma here comes to light through speech, the choice of envoys, faithfulness to promises, and the responsibility kings bear for the consequences of their decisions.