असंतोषादिदोष-निरूपणम्
On the Faults of Discontent and the Discipline of Detachment
पन्थानौ पितृयानश्व देवयानश्व विश्रुतौ । ईजाना: पितृयानेन देवयानेन मोक्षिण:
panthānau pitṛyānaś ca devayānaś ca viśrutau | ījānāḥ pitṛyānena devayānena mokṣiṇaḥ ||
قال يودهيشثيرا: «إن طريقين مشهورين: طريق الأسلاف (pitṛyāna) وطريق الآلهة (devayāna). فالذين يقيمون القرابين على نهج طريق الأسلاف يبلغون مسار الأسلاف، وأما الذين يسيرون في الطريق الإلهي فيُعتَقون—ويبلغون التحرّر.»
युधिछिर उवाच
The verse distinguishes two classical spiritual trajectories: pitṛyāna, linked with sacrificial/ritual merit and the ancestral realm, and devayāna, linked with the higher divine course culminating in liberation (mokṣa). It frames ethical-spiritual choice as a choice of path shaped by one’s practice and aim.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and ultimate good, Yudhiṣṭhira raises a doctrinal point about the well-known ‘two paths’ taught in śāstric tradition, contrasting outcomes for ritual performers and those who follow the divine path toward release.