Shloka 1
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
ऑपन--माज बछ। अकाल त्रिपप्चाशदधिकशततमोड< ध्याय: मृतककी पुनर्जीवन-प्राप्तिके विषयमें एक ब्राह्मण बालकके जीवित होनेकी कथा; उसमें गीध और सियारकी बुद्धिमत्ता युधिछिर उवाच कच्चित् पितामहेनासीच्छुत॑ वा दृष्टमेव च । कच्चिन्मर्त्यो मृतो राजन् पुनरुज्जीवितो5भवत्,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--'पितामह! क्या आपने कभी यह भी देखा या सुना है कि कोई मनुष्य मरकर फिर जी उठा हो!
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca— kaccit pitāmahenāsīc chrutaṃ vā dṛṣṭam eva ca | kaccin martyo mṛto rājan punar ujjīvito 'bhavat ||
قال يودهيشثيرا: «يا جدّاه! هل سمعتَ قطّ—أو رأيتَ بعينك—أمرًا كهذا: أن إنسانًا فانِيًا، بعد أن مات، عاد إلى الحياة؟ أيها الملك، هل وُجد من أُحيي حقًّا بعد الموت؟»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry into the limits of human experience and the authority of knowledge—what is known by hearing (śruti/itihāsa report) versus direct seeing (dṛṣṭa). It prepares the ground for an ethical narrative where extraordinary events are evaluated through reliable testimony and moral reasoning.
Yudhiṣṭhira, in dialogue with Bhīṣma during Śānti Parva, asks whether Bhīṣma has ever heard or seen a case of a person dying and then being brought back to life—introducing the forthcoming account centered on such a revival.