Shloka 3
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
समृद्धौ वासमृद्धौ वा शुभे वा यदि वाशुभे । कारण तत्र मे ब्रूहि सर्वज्ञो हसि मे मत:,प्राणी उन्नति या अवनति, शुभ या अशुभ किसी भी अवस्थामें मरना नहीं चाहते हैं। इसका क्या कारण है? यह मुझे बताइये; क्योंकि मेरी दृष्टिमें आप सर्वज्ञ हैं
samṛddhau vāsamṛddhau vā śubhe vā yadi vāśubhe | kāraṇaṃ tatra me brūhi sarvajño ’si me mataḥ || prāṇī unnatiyā avanatiyā śubhayā aśubhayā kisī bhī avasthā meṃ maranā nahīṃ cāhate haiṃ | isakā kyā kāraṇa hai? etat me brūhi; kyoṃki meṃ dṛṣṭi meṃ āp sarvajña haiṃ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Ob in Wohlstand oder in Armut, ob unter günstigen oder ungünstigen Umständen—sage mir den Grund dafür: Warum wollen Lebewesen, in jedem Zustand von Aufstieg oder Niedergang, von Glück oder Unglück, nicht sterben? Erkläre es mir, denn ich halte dich für allwissend.“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a universal ethical-psychological problem: regardless of external conditions—wealth or poverty, auspiciousness or misfortune—beings cling to life and resist death. It invites reflection on attachment (rāga), self-preservation, and the deeper causes of fear and desire that dharma-discourse seeks to diagnose and remedy.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instructional setting, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a revered, ‘all-knowing’ teacher-figure and asks for the underlying reason that living beings do not want to die in any circumstance. The question sets up a philosophical explanation about the motives and bonds that keep beings attached to embodied existence.