Shloka 2
Śīla-prāpti and Śīla-lakṣaṇa (शीलप्राप्ति-शीललक्षणम्) | On the Acquisition and Marks of Character
धर्मार्थकामा: किंमूलास्त्रयाणां प्रभवश्व कः । अन्योन्यं चानुषज्जन्ते वर्तन्ते च पृथक् पृथक्,धर्म, अर्थ और कामका मूल क्या है? इन तीनोंकी उत्पत्तिका कारण क्या है? ये कहीं एक साथ मिले हुए और कहीं पृथक्-पृथक् क्यों रहते हैं?
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | dharmārthakāmāḥ kiṃmūlāstrayāṇāṃ prabhavaś ca kaḥ | anyonyaṃ cānuṣajjante vartante ca pṛthak pṛthak ||
Yudhiṣṭhira asked: “What is the root of the three aims—dharma, artha, and kāma? What is the source from which they arise? And why do they sometimes cling together, mutually intertwined, and at other times proceed separately, each on its own?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a foundational ethical inquiry: dharma (right order), artha (means and welfare), and kāma (desire and enjoyment) are not merely separate goals but dynamically related. The teaching to be developed in the surrounding discourse is to understand their common root and the conditions under which they harmonize or conflict, so that life—especially a ruler’s life—can be guided without moral confusion.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction setting, Yudhiṣṭhira, seeking clarity after the war, asks a teacher-figure about the philosophical basis of the three human aims. He specifically asks why these aims sometimes support each other and sometimes diverge, indicating his concern for practical governance and personal conduct grounded in dharma.