Shloka 1
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
अफड-्#-करत सप्तदशाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: शुभ कर्मसे एक कीड़ेको पूर्व-जन्मकी स्मृति होना और कीट-योनिमें भी मृत्युका भय एवं सुखकी अनुभूति बताकर कीड़ेका अपने कल्याणका उपाय पूछना युधिछिर उवाच अकामाश्च् सकामाश्च ये हता: सम महामृधे | कां गतिं प्रतिपन्नास्ते तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
akāmāś ca sakāmāś ca ye hatāḥ samare mahā-mṛdhe |
kāṃ gatiṃ pratipannās te tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Grandfather, those warriors who were slain in the great clash of battle—whether they fought without personal desire or with desire—what destiny did they attain? Tell me this.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry into how intention (desire-driven vs. desireless action) relates to posthumous destiny, especially in the morally complex context of death in war.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma as ‘Grandfather’ and asks him to explain what fate befalls warriors killed in a great battle, distinguishing between those who fought with personal desire and those who did not.