Shloka 2
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
केन वृत्तेन राजेन्द्र वर्तमाना नरा भुवि | प्राप्तुवन्त्युत्तमं स्वर्ग कथं च नरक॑ नूप
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kena vṛttena rājendra vartamānā narā bhuvi | prāpnuvanty uttamaṃ svargaṃ kathaṃ ca narakaṃ nṛpa ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O best of kings, by what mode of conduct do people living on this earth attain the highest heaven? And, O ruler, by what kind of conduct do they fall into hell?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: human destiny after death (svarga or naraka) is presented as dependent on one’s vṛtta—one’s habitual conduct and ethical way of living—rather than on status alone.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira, intent on understanding dharma in practical terms, asks the addressed kingly authority (commonly Bhīṣma in this parva’s instruction-setting) what kinds of behavior lead people to the highest heaven and what behavior leads them to hell.