Shloka 51
यक्ष उवाच कि क्षत्रियाणां देवत्वं कश्न धर्म: सतामिव । कश्नैषां मानुषो भाव: किमेषामसतामिव
yakṣa uvāca: kiṁ kṣatriyāṇāṁ devatvaṁ kaś ca dharmaḥ satām iva | ka eṣāṁ mānuṣo bhāvaḥ kim eṣām asatām iva ||
قال الياكشا: «ما الذي في الكشترِيّا يجعله “شبيهاً بالإله”؟ وما الدارما فيه التي تشبه سلوك الأخيار؟ وما الذي فيه هو مجرد طبعٍ بشري؟ وما الذي فيه يشبه طرائق الأشرار؟»
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral analysis of kṣatriya character by separating four layers: the ‘godlike’ excellence, the virtue aligned with the good, the ordinary human element, and the tendency that mirrors the wicked—inviting discernment about true righteous leadership.
In the Yakṣa–Yudhiṣṭhira dialogue of the Vana Parva, the Yakṣa tests the responder through probing questions. Here he asks for a nuanced definition of a kṣatriya’s nature and conduct across virtuous, human, and unvirtuous dimensions.