राजा लक्षणसंपन्नस तरैलॊक्यस्यापि यॊ भवेत
शिष्यस ते शासिता सॊ ऽसतु धृतराष्ट्र युधिष्ठिरः ||34-81||
rājā lakṣaṇasaṃpannas trailokyasyāpi yo bhavet
śiṣyas te śāsitā so ‘stu dhṛtarāṣṭra yudhiṣṭhiraḥ
“Oh King! Speaking the truth and evaluating the pros and cons of everything are characteristics of a ruler. A person who is endowed with these characteristics is Raja Yudhistira and is addressed as a wise person”
A person possessing kingly characteristics is respected and loved by people in the universe and he will rule the world. Such a person is well qualified to rule a kingdom and his right to rule should not be seized away. If a qualified person is endowed with education, knowledge, wealth and kingdom, it will definitely grow multifold. Hence there is no justification in sidelining a qualified person and encouraging an unfit person for that role.
निषेवते परशस्तानि निन्दितानि न सेवते
अनास्तिकः शरद्दधान एतत पण्डित लक्षणम ||33-16||
niṣevate praśastāni ninditāni na sevate
anāstikaḥ śraddadhāna etat paṇḍita lakṣaṇam
“An intelligent person consumes only those which are permitted to be consumed (as per scriptures), as per the requirement of his body. He would renounce unnecessary comforts, have steady devotion towards God and respect his elders also. Hence he is addressed as a scholar as he does not insult anyone and reaches his goal”
A person should consume food that is prescribed to be consumed by human beings in normal course of life. These are food grains that are season specific and area specific. The scriptures have prescribed food based on the need of the season/area and also based on the activities of the human being during that season or in that area.
नाप्राप्यम अभिवाञ्छन्ति नष्टं नेच्छन्ति शॊचितुम
आपत्सु च न मुह्यन्ति नराः पण्डित बुद्धयः ||33-20||
nāprāpyam abhivāñchanti naṣṭaṃ necchanti śocitum
āpatsu ca na muhyanti narāḥ paṇḍita buddhayaḥ
Intellectuals do not crib or fret over things that are beyond their reach. They do not worry on any lost things also. They do not mourn over dead ones. This is because they have realized that this is meaningless sorrow. They do not panic during emergencies and have options to deal with every situation.
न हृष्यत्य आत्मसंमाने नावमानेन तप्यते
गाङ्गॊ हरद इवाक्षॊभ्यॊ यः स पण्डित उच्यते ||33-26||
na hṛṣyaty ātmasaṃmāne nāvamānena tapyate
gāṅgo hrada ivākṣobhyo yaḥ sa paṇḍita ucyate
Remaining balanced and not getting disturbed is a great virtue for any knowledgeable person. Many a time, we get lot of positive and negative distractions in life that changes our path as we get emotionally attached to it. We need to have a balanced reaction towards failure and success, happiness and sorrow, praise and insults, power or no power. This stage is similar to the smoothly flowing Ganga that flows unperturbed by anything happening to it or around it.
प्रवृत्त वाक चित्रकथ ऊहवान परतिभानवान
आशु गरन्थस्य वक्ता च स वै पण्डित उच्यते || 33-28||
pravṛtta vāk citrakatha ūhavān pratibhānavān
āśu granthasya vaktā ca sa vai paṇḍita ucyate
On who keenly understands stories of the past and is able to read in between the lines and thereby interpret the true moral behind the stories will be able to predict the future with ease. Only such a person can be called knowledgeable; for he learns from the experiences of others in the past and is able to foresee the impact on future events. His strategic moves would be timely and useful to people around him.
संसारयति कृत्यानि सर्वत्र विचिकित्सते
चिरं करॊति कषिप्रार्थे स मूढॊ भरतर्षभ ||33-34||
saṃsārayati kṛtyāni sarvatra vicikitsate
ciraṃ karoti kṣiprārthe sa mūḍho bharatarṣabha
“A fool is one who does not do his duty but keeps lecturing others, one who suspects everything, one who out of laziness procrastinates an easy work that could have been done in a very short time”
A person who is able to lecture to others on virtues and does not practice anything by himself is a fool and is laughed at by others. Similarly when a suspecting person gives work to others, that work would not be complete due to constant suspicion. Also, even if the work gets completed he may not be convinced about how it was accomplished.
An ardent student of Indian philosophy-Tatvavada.. with focus on management and leadership insights from Ithihasa and Puranas. Interested in Neeti and dharma shastras.
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