What is the benefit of living a life of धर्म – asks द्रौपदि‌ to Yudhistira. While Kauravas live in a luxurious palace by taking recourse to अधर्म, Pandavas are suffering life inside a forest. द्रौपदि‌ was in deep anguish and strongly admonishes Yudhistira that if living a life a धर्म gives misfortune, why must one live a life of धर्म? The bunch of श्लोक below is fascinating since Yudhistira replies that he does not follow धर्म for any fruits or फल. Read on to this interesting response:

वल्गु चित्रपटं क्ष्लक्ष्णं याज्ञसेनि त्वया वच:। उत्तं तच्छ्रुतमस्माभिर्नास्तिक्यं तु प्रभाषसे।।

O याज्ञसेनि! Your speech is sweet, clear and full of nice expressions. We have listened to it. Your arguments are an expression of नास्तिक भाव. 

नाहं कर्मफलान्वेषी राजपुत्री चराम्युत। ददामि देयमित्येव यजै यष्टव्यमित्युत।।

Oh राजपुत्री! Never being desirous of the फल thereof, I give away a thing that needs to be distributed and I perform a यज्ञ which should be performed.

अस्ति वात्र फलं मा वा कर्तव्यं पुरुषेण यत्। गृहे वा वसता कृष्णे यथाशक्ति करोमि तत्।।

I perform my कर्तव्यं as best as I can, O कृष्णा, what a householder can do, not caring for the फल of my actions

धर्मं चरामि सुश्रोणि नधर्मफलकारणात्। आगमाननतिक्रम्य सतां वृत्तमवेक्ष्य च।।

O fair lady!  I act as per धर्म not for getting the फल of such an action but for not deviating from the path of the वेद and seeing the conduct of those others who perform acts of धर्म.

धर्म एव मन: कृष्णे स्वभावाच्चैव मेधृतम्। धमवाणिज्यको हीनो जघन्योधर्मवादिनाम्।।

नधर्मफलमाप्नोति योधर्मं दोग्धुमिच्छति। यश्चैनम् शङ्कते कृत्वा नास्तिक्यात् पापचेतनः।।

My मन and स्वभाव, O कृष्णा, are naturally bent upon धर्म. That vile trader of धर्म, the worst of the virtuous who wishes to reap the benefits of धर्म does never obtain them nor does a vicious-minded person for his scepticism who doubts a virtuous act, after having accomplished it

अतिवादात्  वदाम्येष माधर्ममभिशङ्किथा:। धर्माभिशङ्की पुरुषस्तिर्यग्गतिपरायण:।।

From the evidence of the वेद, I say “You should never doubt धर्म, a person doubting धर्म is destined to be born among the brutes”

धर्मो यस्याभिशङ्क्य: स्यादार्षं वा दुर्बलात्मनः। वेदाच्छूद्र इवापेयात् स लोकादजरामरात्।।

A weak-minded man who doubts धर्म and the words of ऋषि is precluded from the regions of immortality just as Shudra are precluded from the वेद

(who is a Shudra will be taken up in a later blog from the महाभारत itself)

वेदाध्यायीधर्मपर: कुले जातो मनस्विनः। स्थविरेषु स योक्तव्यो राजर्षिर्धर्मचारिभिः॥

O large-minded lady! One studying the वेद, virtuous and born in a noble कुल (though young) is considered as a pious राजऋषि

पापीयान् स‌ हि शूद्रेभ्यस्तस्करेभ्यो विशिष्यते। शास्त्रातिगो मन्दबुद्धिर्योधर्ममभिशङ्कतेः॥

The vicious minded one, who transgresses the शास्त्र and doubts धर्म is regarded as lower than the Shudras and robbers.

प्रत्यक्षं हि त्वया दृष्ट ऋषिर्गच्छन् महातपाः। मार्कण्डेयोSप्रमेयात्मा धर्मेण चिरजीविता।।

You have seen with your own eyes the great ऋषि मार्कण्डेय of incomparable magnanimity come to us who has been rendered by धर्म 

व्यासो वसिष्ठो मैत्रेयो नारदो लोमशः शुकः। अन्ये च ऋषय: सर्वेधर्मेणैव सुचेतस:।।

व्यास, वसिष्ठ, मैत्रेय, नारद, लोमश and शुक and many other ऋषि have become pure-minded persons by pursuit of धर्म

प्रत्यक्षं पश्यसि ह्येतान् दिव्ययोगसमन्वितान्। शापानुग्रहणे शक्तान्  देवेभ्योSपि गरीयस:।

You yourself see all these ऋषि ended with attaining दिव्ययोग which gave them powers of cursing or blessing (people) and are seen as even superior to the देवता

एते हि धर्ममेवादौ वर्णयन्ति सदानघे। कर्तव्यममरप्रख्या प्रत्यक्षागमबुद्धयः।।

O sinless lady! These sages who follows धर्म are equal to the ऋषि, those who can see what is written in the वेद describe धर्म as the foremost कर्तव्य

अतो नार्हसि कल्याणिधातारंधर्ममेव त। राज्ञि मूढेन मनसा क्षेप्तुं शङ्कितुमेव च।।

You should not, O कल्याणि, with a foolish mind either doubt or censure the destiny (or the acts of ईश्वर)

(since destiny is the outcome of धर्म or अधर्म done in the past lives)

उन्मत्तान् मन्यते बाल: सर्वानागतनिश्चयान्। धर्माभिशङ्को नान्यस्मात् प्राणमधुगच्छति।।

आत्मप्रमाण: उन्नद्ध: श्रेयसो ह्यवमन्यक:। इन्द्रियप्रीतिसम्बन्धम् यदिदं लोकसाक्षिकम्। एतावन् मन्यते बालो मोहमन्यत्र गच्छति।।

The child, who doubts धर्म and disregards virtue and being proud of the proof of his own reasoning, does not receive knowledge of धर्म from others and considers all these sages as madmen who look upon the future as present. He considers the external world as conducive to the gratification of senses and is blind to everything else. 

प्रायश्चित्तं न तस्यास्ति योधर्ममभिशङ्कतेः। ध्यायन् स कृपण: पापो न लोकान् प्रतिपद्यते।।

Whoever doubts धर्म has no expiation of his पापकर्म, that wretched and vile person feels anxiety (here) and does not attain to the regions of bliss (after death)

प्रमाणादि निवृत्तो हि वेदशास्त्रार्थ निन्दकः:। कामलोभातिगो मूढो नरकं प्रतिपद्यते।।

That stupid person who does not regard proofs, who vilifies the interpretation of वेद and who commits पापकर्म under the influence of काम & लोभ  is doomed to नरकलोक

यस्तु नित्यं कृतमतिर्धर्ममोवाभिपद्यते।। अशङ्कमानः कल्याणि सोSमुत्रानन्त्यमश्नुते।।

O blessed lady! He who however does नित्यकर्म and follows धर्म without doubt attains to eternal bliss in the next लोक

आर्षं प्रमाणमुत्क्रम्य धर्मं न प्रतिपालयन्। सर्वशास्त्रातिगो मूढ: शं जन्मसु  न विन्दति।।

The stupid person who violates the proofs of the ऋषि, who does not follow धर्म and violates all the शास्त्र never obtains bliss in any life. 

यस्य नार्षं प्रमाणं स्यात् शिष्टाचारश्च भाविनि। न वै तस्य परो लोको नायमस्तीति निश्चय:।।

For him, O भाविनि!, who disregards the words of the ऋषि and does not care for the evidence of those who practice शिष्टाचार (disciplined practitioner of धर्म at all times), neither this world or the next exists.

शिष्टैराचरितं धर्म कृष्णे मा स्मा़भिशङ्किथाः। पुराणमृषिभिः प्रोक्तं सर्वज्ञैः ‌सर्वदर्शिभिः॥

Doubt not, O कृष्णा, the ancient धर्म followed by the pious and formulated by the सर्वज्ञ and all experienced ऋषि

धर्म एव प्लवो नान्यः स्वर्गं द्रौपदि‌ गच्छताम्। सैव नौः सागरस्येव वणिज: पारमिच्छतः।।

O द्रौपदि‌! धर्म is the only raft and nothing else to those who wish to go to स्वर्गं, like a ship to a merchant wishing to cross the ocean

अफलो यतिधर्म: स्याच्चरितोधर्मचारिभिः। अप्रतिष्ठे तमस्येतज्जगन्मज्जेदनिन्दिते॥

O blameless lady! If the धर्म practiced by the virtuous had no फल, then this world too will be enshrouded in infamous darkness.

निर्वाणं नाधिगच्छेयुर्जीवेषुः पशुजीविकाम्। विद्यां ते नैव युज्येयुर्न चार्थं केचिदाप्नुयुः॥

None would have followed निर्वाण, none would have cared for acquisition of knowledge or even of wealth and people would have lived like beasts.

तपश्च ब्रह्मचर्यं च यज्ञः स्वाध्याय एव च। दानमार्जवमेतानि यदि स्युरफलानि वै।।

नाचरिष्यन् परेधर्म परे परतरे च ये। विप्रलम्भोSयमत्यन्तं यदि स्युरफलाः क्रियाः॥

ऋषयश्चैव देवाश्च गन्धर्वासुरराक्षसाः। ईश्वराः कस्य हेतोस्ते चरेयुधर्ममादृताः॥

If life of तप, life of ब्रह्मचर्यं, doing यज्ञ कर्म or doing स्वाध्याय of the वेद, doing दान and being straight-forward were fruitless, then people would not have followed धर्म, generation after generation. If all the कर्म had been fruitless, a terrible confusion would have set in. Why do ऋषि, देवता, ‌‌गंधर्व & राक्षस who are lords of themselves also practice धर्म with love?

फलदं त्विह विज्ञायधातारं श्रेयसि ध्रुवम्। धर्मं ते व्यचरं कृष्णे तद्धि श्रेय: सनातनम्।।

Considering for certain that धाता‌ (or destiny) is the giver of फल to धर्म undertaken (in the past), they pratice धर्म. This is the eternal highest knowledge.

ह नयमफलोधर्मे नाधर्मोSफलानपि। दृष्यन्तेsपि हि विद्यानां फलानि तपसां‌ तथा।।

त्वामात्मनो विजानीहि जन्म कृष्णेयथा श्रुतम्। वेत्थ चापि यथा जातोधृष्टद्युम्नः प्रतापवान्

Where the फल of विद्या and तपकर्म are seen, धर्म & अधर्म‌ can never be devoid of फल. Recollect O कृष्णा, the circumstances of your birth as you have heard and also the manner in which the powerful धृष्टद्युम्न was born.

एतावदेव पर्याप्तम् उपमानम् शुचिस्मिते। कर्मणां फलमाप्नोति धीरोsल्पेनीपि तुष्यति॥

These are sufficient proofs, O lady od sweet smiles; the self-controlled reap the फल of धर्म and are satisfied with a little.

बहुनापि ह्यविद्वांसो नैव तुष्यन्त्यबुद्धय:। तेषां नधर्मजं किंचित्‌ प्रेत्य शर्मास्ति वा पुनः॥

Ignorant and stupid persons are not satisfied even with excess (which they possess) and they have no happiness begotten of धर्म for them in the next लोक

कर्मणां श्रुतपुण्यानां पापानां च फलादेयः। प्रभवश्चात्ययश्चैव देवगुह्यानि भाविनि।।

The fruits of पुण्यकर्म laid down in the वेद as well of पापकर्म, the root and the destruction of कर्म, are a mystery even to the देवता. 

नैतानि वेद यः कश्चिन्मुह्यन्तेsत्र प्रजा‌‌ इमाः। अपि कल्पसहस्रेण न स श्रेयाSधिगच्छति।।

These (truths) are not known to all. Ordinary people are ignorant of these and they do not attain even in a thousand कल्प the well-being of the देवता. 

रक्ष्यान्येतानि देवानां गू़ढमाया हि देवताः। कृताशाश्च व्रताशाश्च तपसा दग्धकिल्बिषाः। प्रसादैर्मानसैर्युक्ताः पश्यन्त्येतानि वै द्विजाः।।

These are kept in secrecy by the देवता, for their illusive energy is mysterious. However, those ब्राह्मण who have conquered their aspirations, those that have built up their hopes, those whose पापकर्म have been burnt up by तपकर्म, those who have contended minds, can observe these.

न फलादर्शनाद्धर्मः श्ङ्कितव्यो न देवताः। यष्टव्यं च प्रयत्नेन दातव्यं चानसूयता।।

For not being able to see the फल, you should not doubt धर्म or देवता, you should perform यज्ञ sincerely and दान without any pride. 

कर्मणां फलमस्तीह तथैतद्धर्मशासनम्। ब्रह्मा प्रोवाच पुत्राणां यदृषिर्वेद कश्यपः॥

कर्म have a फल in this world and धर्म is eternal, as said by कश्यप – ब्रह्मा told all this to his sons.

तस्मात् ते संशयः कृष्णे नीहार इव नश्यतु। व्यवस्य सर्वमस्तीति नास्तिक्यं भावमृत्सृज।।

O कृष्णा! Let your doubts be cleared like dew drops. Let your नास्तिक भाव yield to faith.

ईश्वरं चापि भूतानां धातारं मा च वै क्षिप। शिक्षस्वैन नमस्वैन मा तेsभूद् बुद्धिरीदृशी।।

Do not speak ill of ईश्वर who is the Lord of all life forms, learn to know Him, bow to Him, let not your understanding be blind.

यस्य  प्रसादात् तद्भक्तो मर्त्यो गच्छत्यमर्त्यताम्। उत्तमो देवतां कृष्णे मावमंस्था: कथंचन।।

Never disregard that ईश्वर, O कृष्णा, by whose mercy the mortals, by doing पुण्यकर्म gain the state of देवता. 

Source:

Translation of Mahabharata by MN Dutt