एवं स बहुशः सर्वान् उक्तवांस् तान् सभासदः ॥
न च ते पृथिवीपालास् तम् ऊचुः साध्व् असाधु वा ॥
उक्त्वा तथासकृत् सर्वान् विकर्णः पृथिवीपतीन् ॥
पाणिं पाणौ विनिष्पिष्य निःश्वसन्न् इदम् अब्रवीत् ॥
विब्रूत पृथिवीपाला वाक्यं मा वा कथं चन ॥
मन्ये न्याय्यं यद् अत्राहं तद् धि वक्ष्यामि कौरवाः ॥
चत्वार्य् आहुर् नरश्रेष्ठा व्यसनानि महीक्षिताम् ॥
मृगयां पानम् अक्षांश् च ग्राम्ये चैवातिसक्तताम् ॥
एतेषु हि नरः सक्तो धर्मम् उत्सृज्य वर्तते ॥
तथायुक्तेन च कृतां क्रियां लोको न मन्यते ॥
evaṃ sa bahuśaḥ sarvān uktavāṃs tān sabhāsadaḥ ||
na ca te pṛthivīpālās tam ūcuḥ sādhv asādhu vā ||
uktvā tathāsakṛt sarvān vikarṇaḥ pṛthivīpatīn ||
pāṇiṃ pāṇau viniṣpiṣya niḥśvasann idam abravīt ||
vibrūta pṛthivīpālā vākyaṃ mā vā kathaṃ cana ||
manye nyāyyaṃ yad atrāhaṃ tad dhi vakṣyāmi kauravāḥ ||
catvāry āhur naraśreṣṭhā vyasanāni mahīkṣitām ||
mṛgayāṃ pānam akṣāṃś ca grāmye caivātisaktatām ||
eteṣu hi naraḥ sakto dharmam utsṛjya vartate ||
tathāyuktena ca kṛtāṃ kriyāṃ loko na manyate ||
Thus he appealed again and again to all those seated in the assembly, but the lords of the earth said neither "well" nor "ill" to him. Having addressed all the lords of the earth thus more than once, Vikarna, pressing palm to palm and sighing, said: "Speak, O lords of the earth, your word, or say nothing at all — I myself will declare what I hold to be right here, O Kauravas. Four ruinous vices of kings the best of men name: hunting, drink, dice, and excessive attachment to the flesh. A man sunk in these casts off dharma and acts wrongly, and the deed done by such a one the world does not recognize as lawful."
963a0c8f4c72 · प्रकाशित 16 जुल॰ 2026, 4:12:36 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Vikarna lays the foundation of judgment: a deed born of a ruinous vice does not carry the same force as a deed of sober reason. Here a free will is distinguished from a will darkened by passion — and dharma does not impute to one possessed by passion the same as to one who is sober. It is significant that in the list of vices dice stand alongside drink: gambling intoxicates no less than wine, and Yudhishthira, "drunk with the fever of the game," acted not as master of himself. The verse teaches that passion, by depriving a man of power over himself, also deprives his deeds of the fullness of lawful force; and that judgment must weigh not only the deed done but the condition of the one who did it.