Shloka 2
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 181 — Svayaṃvara Aftermath: Arjuna–Karna Exchange and Bhīma–Śalya Contest
जानता वै परं धर्म वसिष्ठेन महात्मना । अगम्यागमनं कस्मात् कृतं तेन महर्षिणा,तथा उत्तम धर्मके ज्ञाता महात्मा महर्षि वसिष्ठने यह परस्त्रीगमनका पाप कैसे किया?
jānatā vai paraṃ dharmaṃ vasiṣṭhena mahātmanā | agamyāgamanam kasmāt kṛtaṃ tena maharṣiṇā ||
Arjuna sprach: „Vasiṣṭha, jener großherzige Weise, kannte wahrhaft das höchste Dharma. Warum also beging dieser Maharishi die Tat, sich dem zu nähern, dem man sich nicht nähern darf—eine unerlaubte sexuelle Übertretung? Wie konnte einer, der das oberste Gesetz versteht, in eine solche Sünde fallen?“
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse raises a classic dharma-question: even a knower of the highest moral law may appear to commit a grave transgression, prompting inquiry into context, intention, compulsion, and the complexity of ethical judgment in epic narrative.
Arjuna voices astonishment and doubt: since the sage Vasiṣṭha is renowned as a master of dharma, Arjuna asks why he performed an act described as ‘agamya-āgamanam’—approaching what is forbidden—framing the episode as a moral puzzle that demands explanation.