Shloka 3
सत्य–अनृत, प्रकाश–तमस्, स्वर्ग–नरक विवेचनम्
Truth and Untruth as Light and Darkness; Svarga and Naraka as Ethical Consequences
कथं सृष्टानि भूतानि कथ॑ं वर्णविभक्तय: । शौचाशौचं कथं तेषां धर्माधर्मविधि: कथम्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kathaṃ sṛṣṭāni bhūtāni kathaṃ varṇa-vibhaktayaḥ | śaucāśaucaṃ kathaṃ teṣāṃ dharmādharmavidhiḥ katham |
سأل يودهيشثيرا: «كيف أُوجدت الكائنات الحيّة؟ وكيف أُقيم تقسيم الفَرْنَة (varṇa) إلى مراتب اجتماعية؟ وكيف حُدِّدت الطهارة والنجاسة فيهم؟ وكيف وُضعت شرائع الدارما والأدارما؟»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a foundational ethical inquiry: dharma is not treated as mere custom but as something whose origins, classifications (including varṇa), and purity rules require principled explanation. It sets up a discussion on how moral and social order is grounded in creation and injunction (vidhi).
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira asks an elder authority to explain the origins of beings, the establishment of varṇa divisions, the rationale of purity/impurity regulations, and how dharma versus adharma is authoritatively defined.