Shloka 2
Brahmapūjā-kāraṇa-prśnaḥ and Keśava–Viṣvaksena-stuti
Question on Brahmin veneration; hymn on Kṛṣṇa as cosmic order
इमांस्तु श्रोतुमिच्छामि धर्मान् धर्मभूतां वर । दानं कतिविध॑ देयं कि तस्य च फलं लभेत्,धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ पितामह! अब मैं दानके सम्बन्धमें इन धर्मोंको सुनना चाहता हूँ कि दानके कितने भेद हैं? और जो दान दिया जाता है, उसका क्या फल मिलता है?
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | imāṁs tu śrotum icchāmi dharmān dharmabhūtāṁ vara | dānaṁ katividhaṁ deyaṁ kiṁ tasya ca phalaṁ labhet |
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „O Großvater, du Bester unter den Rechtschaffenen, ich wünsche diese Pflichten zu hören, die selbst Gestalten des Dharma sind. Auf wie viele Arten soll Wohltätigkeit gegeben werden, und welche Frucht erlangt man aus der Gabe, die man spendet?“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames charity (dāna) as an essential expression of dharma and asks for a systematic account: the kinds of giving and the corresponding results (phala), implying that ethical giving is evaluated by its form and its moral-spiritual outcome.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instructional setting, Yudhiṣṭhira respectfully questions Bhīṣma (the grandsire) to receive detailed guidance on the dharma of charity—its classifications and the benefits gained by the giver.