Shloka 38
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
जानाम्यध्यात्मयोगांश्ष॒ यो5हं यस्माच्च भारत
jānāmy adhyātma-yogāṁś ca yo ’haṁ yasmāc ca bhārata; pravṛtti-dharmo loka-abhyudaya-sādhako nivṛtti-dharmo niḥśreyasa-pradaś ca me nājñātaḥ. ekamātraḥ sanātanaḥ puruṣa eva sarva-manuṣyāṇāṁ suvikhyāta āśrayabhūto nārāyaṇo ’ham.
O Bhārata, ich kenne die Disziplinen des Yoga zur geistigen Verwirklichung; und ich weiß auch, wer ich bin und woher ich gekommen bin. Weder ist mir der Dharma des tätigen Engagements unbekannt, der weltlichen Wohlstand bringt, noch der Dharma der Entsagung, der das höchste Gut gewährt. Wahrlich, ich allein bin die ewige Person—Nārāyaṇa—berühmt als Zuflucht aller Menschen.
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts two complementary orientations of dharma: pravṛtti (engaged action that supports social and worldly welfare) and nivṛtti (renunciant turning inward that leads to niḥśreyasa, the highest good). It asserts that true spiritual authority comprehends both paths and culminates in recognizing the supreme refuge—Nārāyaṇa—as the eternal Person.
The speaker proclaims comprehensive knowledge: of adhyātma-yoga, of personal identity and origin, and of both the worldly and liberative forms of dharma. The statement culminates in a theologically charged self-identification with Nārāyaṇa, presenting the supreme Lord as the universally acknowledged refuge.